Accepting Destiny Part 2
by dreemseeker
Summary: Decisions turn into plans. Stephanie finds that someone has some plans for her. Babe HEA
1. Chapter 1

Standard FF disclaimers

April 2012

_Thank you! To all of you who have been kind enough to leave your reviews. I am glad that we are on this journey together. And a special thank you to Margaret Fowler, who always knows the right thing to say… _

_this is for you…_

Accepting Destiny part 2

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The big leather easy chair dwarfed young Stephanie. She was hiding out at her grandparents house again. Grandma Mazur had put on My Fair Lady, as usual, and Stephanie was shielded in her grandfather's big chair with a bowl of buttery popcorn at her side.

She didn't even want to think of what got her into trouble at school today. Needless to say, it involved ugly Joyce Barnhardt, again. Stephanie shook her head at the memory of what went down. It didn't matter that Joyce always deserved what she got. It was always Stephanie that got in trouble. She let out a big sigh for such a small girl. She knew that this safe haven could only last a little while longer. The time was approaching when she would have to go home and face her mother. In her minds eye she could see how it was going to play out.

Her mother's face would be nearly purple for the lack of oxygen as she yelled at her. The vein in her neck would be huge. Stephanie always found herself staring at that vein. It grew gradually and then it pulsed as her mother pushed on with the tirade. Most of the words were lost on Stephanie, she zoned it all out by concentrating on the oddly fascinating vein. But the words made their way into her subconscious, and they hurt.

Young Stephanie cringed at the thought. She considered begging her grandmother to let her stay. But she knew it couldn't happen. Once Grandpa Mazur got home from his job at the steel mill, the dynamics of the house would change. He was a huge personality, packed into a short, muscular body. Brusque and domineering, he seemed to fill the whole house the moment he walked in the door. And_ this_ grandpa scared her a little. He was the one that grandma wanted Stephanie to avoid. So she knew she would be going home soon.

By Sunday afternoon, however, the grandpa that Stephanie loved would emerge. She would spend hours with him. They would sit under the huge oak tree in the small backyard. Tucked into a punched metal lawn chair, they would read the classics together. Tom Sawyer, Black Beauty, Treasure Island. Grandpa would make up voices for their favorite characters as he read. This was the grandpa that Stephanie adored and loved. When she was older, her grandfather taught her to play marbles. Stephanie was intrigued by the game. Not only were there shiny glass pieces to examine and play with, there was strategy and skill. Her attention to detail helped her to be a great player. She saw the whole playing circle and could evaluate the possible future moves, aiding her in choosing the best plays. Her grandfather was lavish with his praise of her skills and often challenged her to play 'for keeps', helping her build up her own collection of marbles. The day he let her play for his favorite marble was etched in her mind forever. His favorite was a shooter, a peltier nova. Shooters are the most important piece in the game. It is a larger marble about an inch in diameter. The nova is a black almost metallic looking globe with a single streak of color swirling through it. In this case it was a blood red streak and it was striking. But more than being a great prize, it was the pride that her grandfather showed in her, that impressed Stephanie about that game. She had always kept that marble. Long after she was "too old" to play marbles anymore. And long after her Grandfather aged and lost his enthusiasm for games and books and visitors. It was a reminder of all the times they spent together. By the time her grandfather passed away, he had become a shadow of his former self. Not only in stature, but in mind. It was like something had eaten away at him, slowly over the years. He would be so deep in thought, at times, that he would completely blank everything else out. Something heavy was weighing on him. Pulling him down, but he never spoke of it, not to Stephanie anyway. She always wondered what could be so bad to make someone look the way he did just by thinking about it.

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"Stephanie!" her mother said in a voice two octaves higher than normal. "Are you listening to me?" Helen stared at Stephanie, and with her hands on her hips she took a breath to continue the 'discussion' they were having. This discussion had been going on for at least 20 minutes already. Stephanie had effectively blocked out most of it. She was very experienced at that. It was the same old thing again any way. "why did you break up with Joe, he would have given you a house and babies" "you are too old to keep playing around" "Margaret Gooley's daughter managed to get married without blowing up any cars." "why won't you stop working with those, those thugs"

That did it. She had had enough. "Stuff it mother," Stephanie said in a low voice. She walked out of the kitchen and over to her fathers chair, sitting down on the edge of the seat. Her back rigid, her chin up. Stephanie was ready to fight.

"I beg your pardon, young lady," Helen began, following her.

But Stephanie looked at her and she stopped mid sentence. What was this? Helen stared at her daughter, perhaps seeing her for the first time in a very long time. There was something in Stephanie's eyes that she had never seen before. It took her back. Helen swallowed hard. Everything had changed.

Stephanie nodded curtly at her. She knew that when she had left her old Burg world behind, that meant she was done putting up with the guilt fest imposed on her by her mother as well. She was only here today as a courtesy. Her grandmother had asked her to talk to her. Helen had been a walking terror since the breakup with Joe. Both Edna and Frank were getting tired of hearing her, complaining about Stephanie, on the phone with countless "friends" who were all wanting the scoop on Stephanie's latest man. Helen had not been interested in believing that it was over with Joe. She was probably single handedly spurring on the gossip and encouraging the wagers being set on when Joe and Stephanie would be back together. She had never even seriously considered that Stephanie could be in love with another man. She was still set on getting her married off to a 'nice boy' from the burg.

For Stephanie, this was the last chance that she intended to give her mother. She did not need the Burg, she certainly did not need to let her mother play the same games on her any more. Stephanie was now "taken care of" as her mother liked to say. There was not one reason for Helen to argue with or belittle her any longer. And even less of a reason for Stephanie to allow it for one second more.

Helen froze and continued to look at her daughter, staring, unmoving. Stephanie watched her as the progression of emotions played across her face. Confusion, fury and finally resignation. And she knew that Helen finally got it. Stephanie knew she understood, and had nothing left to say. Again, she watched Helen, her face said it all. Eyes wide, vein bulging, stricken.

"Good," said Stephanie, "now that we understand each other. I guess I can go now."

With that, she grabbed her bag and walked out. Leaving her mother speechless with her mouth open. The door closed, and silence filled the house. Helen sat there, stunned. A few minutes later, or an hour later, she didn't know, time had no concept at the moment. Helen found her way into the kitchen, opened the cupboard and swallowed 'two fingers' of fiery liquid. Straight from the bottle.

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Edna Mazur had the time of her life last night. If being surrounded by big muscular hunks of men wasn't good enough, she had found her best friend. Meeting Mona Schiller was a highlight of the evening. Mona was a hoot, she had a sense of humor that had kept Edna in stitches. Mona showed her all over the stadium, introducing her here and there to her favorite people and all the while telling stories that seemed too funny to be true. But they were certainly entertaining. In the span of a few short hours, Edna learned a lot about her new friend. Mona was an independent, single, smart woman. She lived alone in the house she bought years ago, back when she thought she might be getting married. It didn't happen, but she stayed in the house that she had once envisioned a family living in. It was a big, happy, comfortable home.

Her job enabled her to work with the charities that the team sponsored. She was able to be involved in things like Habitats for Humanity, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and the Special Olympics

Edna told her that she wanted to "grow up to be just like her" and they laughed together until they were in tears. Edna may have been young at heart, but still she had at least 20 years on Mona. But the sentiment remained and it gave Mona a lot to think about. She wasn't getting any younger, thoughts of marriage were a thing of the past. She had a fulfilling life and didn't waste a minute. She was used to making up her mind rather quickly once she was presented with a decision. And this was one of those times. She had decided that it was time to have a roommate. So she walked around her big house and wondered if Edna would have fun living here with her.

The next day, Mona called Edna and invited her to lunch. They spent all afternoon running around with each other and still made it back in time for the Burchard viewing at Stiva's. Again Edna felt like she had been best friends with Mona her entire life. She liked hanging out with her and when Mona asked if she would like to move in and be her roommate, Edna took all of about 1.5 seconds to say absolutely yes.

Since Mona's house was already completely furnished, it would be an easy transition for Edna. And they decided that they could make the big move next Saturday. Edna knew that she could throw her stuff together in less than an hour, but she wanted to break the news gently to Helen. She wasn't actually sure how she would react. Giving it a few days would let her know.

So Sunday evening she brought it up. She was interrupting a scintillating program about humidity on the weather channel, and Frank seemed annoyed. But Edna wasn't really talking to him any way so she kept talking.

Helen's eyes grew wide as the realization of what her mother was suggesting finally hit her. It was ludicrous. Her mother must be out of her mind. What would the neighbors say? Frank just sat there agreeing that it would be a great idea for her to go off and be someone's roommate. For goodness sake, what did they even know about this Mona person. She was seriously considering the steps she would have to take to become her mother's guardian so that she would be able to keep her from making such horrible decisions.

Finally Edna said, "Helen, I am not asking for your permission. I am a grown woman. I am your mother, and I am telling you that I will be moving out on Saturday." With that she turned on her heel and walked upstairs.

Helen was not happy about any of this. This had been a weekend from hell as far as she was concerned. First her 'discussion' with Stephanie that had ended so badly. And now this, how much was a person supposed to take?

"Frank," Helen said, trying to get his attention. "Frank!" a little bit louder. Finally he looked at her.

"What?" he said.

"Did you hear all that?" she asked. "Did you hear _any_ of that?" "Mother wants to move out." She sat down hard on the chair next to his. "Frank, what are we going to do about it?"

"Helen, we are going to let her do what she wants," he told her. "It sounds a hell of a lot better than being in an old folks home, and she really likes being with Mona."

Upstairs there was a clattering noise. It sounded like there were hundreds of tiny feet with metal shoes doing a tap dance. Helen ran up to Edna's room as fast as she could. Her mother was standing in the middle of the room with an empty box in her hands. The stricken look on her face alarmed Helen.

"Mother, what's the matter? she asked quietly.

"Where did these come from?" Edna whispered. She was so upset she could barely speak. "Why are these here?" she asked.

Helen was confused. She was looking at her fathers marbles all over the floor. What could be so upsetting about marbles? But Edna's face reflected a horror that Helen had never seen there before.

"Get them out of here now," she growled.


	2. Chapter 2

Standard FF disclaimers

April 2012

Accepting Destiny Part 2

Chapter 2

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Point Pleasant called them back again. The excitement of the Thunders game was over and Stephanie had come to an understanding with her mother. Now she wanted to get back to her vacation with Ranger that had been interrupted in order for her to participate in the fundraiser with Mona. She hadn't minded going, she had promised she would do it. She had been more than willing to go back for that big night. And it had been a great night for everyone from RangeMan too.

Ranger had been such a good sport about it. But they both knew that they would rather be alone. They would rather have kept a very low profile, especially now that they were together. And both of them would have loved to avoid the Burg altogether. But it was an opportunity to do some good and let the guys have some fun together, and Ranger helped to make it great for everyone. Stephanie looked at him, seeing in him so many things to love. She felt her heart full to bursting and still there was more and more to love every day. And she had been finding those things. Every day.

"You're staring," Ranger playfully accused her.

"I do that," she replied with a sly smile.

A cold burst of air came up off of the ocean, slapping against her windbreaker and whipping it around Stephanie's shoulders. Ranger smoothly caught the zippered edge and pulled it around her, bundling her in the coat and his arms at the same time. She leaned into him a little closer. Continuing down the beach they both enjoyed the miracle of being together. Silently communicating as they made their way back to the beach house. The days had become progressively colder during their week long visit to Point Pleasant. Not that they actually noticed very much, they had not left the cabin in days. But since this was their last night here, they decided to walk down the beach to the beachfront café. The crowds were thin this time of year. They practically had the whole place to themselves. Only a few stragglers were left there with them. An old gentleman sat alone by the window. And a couple was tucked away in the back, heads together. Stephanie couldn't help but smile. She knew how they felt. Ranger found a secluded booth of their own.

The afternoon light was fading with the coming storm. They wanted to get back before it had a chance to rain on them. When they left, arm in arm, they did not pay much attention as the older gentleman walked out behind them.

It had been another perfect day together, and they walked in a comfortable silence. Each in their own way, were remembering the moment last week that Ranger came back. Stephanie looked up into his eyes again. It was still there, the spark that took her breath away. The look that spoke of his love for her. She may not have realized it, but he was seeing the same spark in her eyes. It took his breath away. They remembered the very second that they knew they would be together forever. Their world changed in that moment and it would never be the same again.

Ranger smiled at her, this smile lit up his whole face. Melting her inside.

"What?" she smiled back at him. His smile increased, and he almost laughed.

"What?" Stephanie pushed her shoulder playfully into his chest.

"You are shivering," he stated.

"And you want to laugh about it?" she questioned. Grinning.

"I was just thinking of what I could do to warm you up." he replied, his eyes growing darker as he spoke. He leaned in closer and whispered something into her ear. His breath warmed her ear and neck, but what he said sent fire throughout her whole body.

They were almost home, but now their pace quickened and they rushed to get through the door. Within minutes, their damp clothing had been discarded and they were wrapped up together in one of the down comforters they grabbed from the bed. Cuddled together on the couch, they finally took notice of their surroundings. The picture window of the living room looked out over the ocean. They kept each other warm while watching the sky change, in a myriad of colors playing off of the clouds, as the night sky emerged. Becoming dark, and deep and sprinkled with tiny diamonds that were barely visible.

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_1942_

Gentle breezes blew through the tops of the tall palm trees. Laying on his back, as he was at this moment, Harry could watch as the fluffy white clouds lazily floated across the sapphire blue skies. He would have been able to enjoy the view if he hadn't been trying to catch his breath. The only reason he was lying on his back right now was because he had just fallen off of the roof of the old barracks that they were repairing. Harry had been working on this building all day now. This was the oldest of the buildings that they were working on, and in need of the most repairs.

The speed at which the army needed new buildings built, and old structures fixed, was dizzying. Sam had recruited Harry months ago, back in New York, to help on the Construction Battalion crew. Sam had been a friend of the family and knew of Harry's desire to make a difference. The Sea Bees, as they were called, (taking the name from the initials C and B) were sent all over the world, wherever construction was needed. Sam's group had been stationed here in Cuba for the past 4 months.

"If you are through fooling around," Sam started to say, with a chuckle.

"Don't start Sam," Harry quickly responded. "I'm definitely not in the mood.

With some effort Harry picked himself up and climbed the ladder, going right back to the hole in the roof that he had fallen through. Back at work, he patched that hole and the several other spots that needed repairing. Sam was glad to have Harry along. Harry may be young, but he had learned a lot about construction from his father and what he didn't know, he picked up quickly. He was one of Sam's best workers. A few hours later Harry was done with the repairs. He was ready to grab a shower and meet with the rest of the crew at the local cantina - _bar_.

The live band played the Cumbia, and were pounding out a powerful rhythm. There were several couples dancing in the center of the makeshift patio area stretching out onto the beach. The tables were set up all around the 'patio' and they had filled up quickly.

As soon as the sun started going down, the breezes picked up at the beach side cantina. A dozen or so Navy Sea Bees were sitting around the patio reminiscing about their girls back home. Harry was quiet, he had just met Edna, when he had found the opportunity to join the Sea Bees. She was pretty and spirited, and very out spoken. They hadn't had more than one date and he wasn't sure if she would like it if he called her his girl. But as far as he was concerned she was. And as soon as he got home, he would marry her.

Nearly a year ago now, Harry had been trying for months to sign up for the war effort. Unfortunately he was too young and none of the recruitment offices would even talk to him. But young Harry had the strong desire to help in the war effort. As it was, Harry was still too young, even for the Sea Bees. But his friend Sam had pulled off some magic and here he was on an exotic Island, sharing a couple of cervezas - _beers_ in a place called Puerto Escondido - _Hidden Port. _Appropriate he thought, since he was still hiding the fact that he wasn't 18 yet.

"Hola mis amigos - _hello my friends_ " Augusto strolled across the sand and sat down with Sam and Harry. He was tall and lean, with stooped shoulders. His dark brown hair was sprinkled with grey. He acted like a native Cuban, but Harry always thought that he looked more European. They had met him a couple of months ago, while picking up some building supplies. It was always great to find people to talk to who knew English, when you spoke limited Spanish. And Augosto had been very helpful when they attempted to make the purchase. Harry thought that he was an interesting guy. He was older, had seen a lot of the world, and ran a business as a small trader dealing in sugar, coffee and tobacco. It all seemed exciting for a 17 year old, and he loved the stories. Augosto told some amazing stories. Mostly about how the war was being fought in other countries. He was telling one now, it was about what was taking place in Germany. He had Harry's attention as well of most of the other guys there. He had just said something pivotal to his story and his voice was low. Everyone leaned forward in their seats to hear him.

All at once the Cantina exploded. The blast shot flames and billows of smoke high into the night sky. Flaming debris came raining down everywhere. Harry covered his head with his arms trying to protect himself. Next thing he knew, Augosto had grabbed his arm and pulled him out of there. They ran, and ran. Harry didn't know where they were going, only that they were getting away from the threat of injury at the cantina. Finally they stopped in an alcove of rocks jutting out into the ocean.

"They are all dead," Augosto said through gasps of air. He closed his eyes and repeated, "they are all dead."

Both of the men slumped down and hung their heads. This had been a terrible tragedy, and Harry could only think that they had been targeted because they were Americans. That meant that he was still in danger. As if Augosto had read his mind he whispered.

"You can come with me, we can sneak out of here, back to the states. There you will be safe."

Maybe an older man would have been suspicious of an easy solution to what seemed to be a very big problem. Maybe a more experienced man would have questioned the amount of heavy luggage that his friend had ready, for what was supposed to have been a spur of the moment plan to get the hell out of there. Maybe a less desperate man would have seen the others that followed them. But Harry was done having his adventures. He had helped the war effort, and that had been his goal. He was grateful to have some help to get him out of there so fast. It wouldn't be until years later that he would understand. Not until he was contacted again. By Sam.

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RangeMan Trenton was a security company. Many of the clients were business men with years of experience, and years of experienc_es_ that sometimes ended up with disgruntled clients or employees. Receiving threats was a fact of life for many of these business owners. And RangeMan was on hand to offer assistance to help investigate the threats. It was usual for the threatening notes or phone calls to go directly to the place of business. It was also usual for the men at RangeMan to deal with threats that were directed at their clients. To date, RangeMan, itself, had never been threatened by any former employees or clients. So when Vince answered the phone, he was completely unprepared for what he heard. He was taken aback to hear the menacing sound in the voice that not only threatened to reach Stephanie but inflict 'pain and suffering' if she did not give in to his demands.

The call was troubling for a number of reasons, not the least of which, of course, was the threat to Stephanie. The caller had personal information about Stephanie. He knew where to call to leave the message for her. He also knew that Stephanie was not home from Point Pleasant yet. He seemed to know her schedule and gave her a timeline to comply with his request. It was the request itself, however, that put up most of the red flags. Among other things, this person wanted to meet her, alone, at her grandparents old property. And he was very specific about his demands.

Vince immediately called Tank over. They were going to need their teams of specialists on this immediately. Within minutes, the call was being traced and analyzed.

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The skies over the ocean were grey and full of clouds. "Good timing" Stephanie thought. They would be gone before the storm hit. She could take the cold winds, but she hated being on the beach when it rained. Maybe it was another of her irrational hangups, but she was glad they would be on their way home before it started.

Ranger came up behind her. Wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back into him, he nuzzled his chin into her neck.

"Deep in thought?" he asked her quietly. She shook her head slightly in response. Closing her eyes, she forced all thoughts from her mind, allowing herself to concentrate on this moment. Here in his arms, where she always wanted to be.

"We are all packed and ready to go," she told him, as she turned around in his arms. She snaked her arms around his waist and kissed him lightly on his lips. Ranger returned her kiss, with a deepening passion. Her arms pulled him in closer, and she was thinking that there could be a delay in their departure, when his phone buzzed on the table behind them. Without breaking contact, Ranger reached the phone to turn it off. But when he saw it was a call from Tank, he picked up.

"Yo," he said. It was all that he said, he listened intently. And when the call was over, he turned to Stephanie and said "we need to leave, now."

Instinctively Stephanie knew that they did not have time for explanations. She would be able to ask questions once they were on the road. But she was alarmed. Ranger was in protector mode. Highly alert, tense. But she would wait until he was ready, before she pushed for answers. However, when he began to check the truck thoroughly for tampering, she couldn't wait any longer.

"What is going on?" she started to say.

Satisfied that there was no immediate threat to the truck. He quickly helped her into the truck and pulled away from the beach house before he said anything. His face a serious mask until he started speaking, then Stephanie could see the tension and worry in his eyes.

"Steph, you've got another stalker," he said.

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Edna Mazur had secrets. Secrets that she had thought were buried and gone with her husband Harry. Secrets that she had lived with for the past 30 years. Secrets that she had hoped she would never have to think of again. But as she stared at the box of small black, shiny balls, she knew that the secrets had found her again. This time she did not have Harry to face them with. She didn't know who to turn to now.

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	3. Chapter 3

Standard FF disclaimers

April 2012

Accepting Destiny Part 2

Chapter 3

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Sheets of rain pelted the large diamond paned windows in Edna's new room. If it hadn't been raining, she could have seen the beautifully landscaped backyard that stretched back to the tall cedar fence bordering the property. She could have picked out the several mature peach trees, cherry trees, and large raspberry bushes. Edna turned away from the window. She looked around the room again. Mona had furnished every room in her house with big comfortable furniture. This was the 'yellow room'. Edna loved how cheery it felt, and yellow is her favorite color, so it was the perfect choice.

A big overstuffed chair was placed close to the window with an old fashioned side table that had a lamp built in, a pole from the base came up through the center of the table to the shade above. The full size bed was covered with a down comforter that gave it a big puffy look. The duvet cover was a creamy yellow with a pattern of vines running through it in a sage green. Big pillows were piled along the head of the bed, comfy and inviting.

Everything was perfect. Well almost everything. She was settled in and all her things were in their new places. Mona had helped her move everything, and it had actually been a lot more fun than she had anticipated. Edna was worried about the attitude that Helen would give her about the move. But Mona won her over, she always had a smile for everyone, and Helen couldn't help but like her too. Mona's easy way with people was working to her advantage today and Edna was sure that she would be happy here with her. But in the back of her mind, she was trying to work out her problem. She hoped that it would not bring bad things Mona's way. She never wanted her secret to hurt anyone else. Edna had not thought of her secret since Harry died. As she carefully hid the box of metal balls that had so unexpectedly come back into her life, she worried. It worried her that someone knew. Those balls had been planted in her room. Someone was playing with her and she didn't know who or why. But after much thought, Edna had made a decision. She felt a little better now. So she forcefully pushed her thoughts back into the box in her mind that had guarded her secrets for so long.

She smiled at Mona, thanking her for all her help. And they celebrated with a wonderful gourmet meal that they prepared together in the big kitchen. Conversations were easy and full of friendly banter between the two of them, referring to themselves as 'partners in crime" they laughed til they were in tears. Mona loved the company. She would never have described herself as lonely, but she was definitely a people person, and she loved having someone around to talk with.

All weekend the two ladies bustled about the house, chatting and teasing. It was truly as if they had been friends forever. By Sunday evening, they had made some big plans for the rest of the week. The rain was possibly going to slow them down a bit, but they could make their first trip to RangeMan with no problems at all. Mona wanted to share her big news with them in person. And Edna was hoping that she could secretly talk to Stephanie and Ranger.

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On the fifth floor of the RangeMan building, Roger King had turned an entire wall over to the investigation of the threat on Stephanie. There were timelines, copies of the initial phone conversation, notes tracking the origin of the call, and every bit of information his team had gathered about Stephanie and her recent activities. All of these details were placed up on the wall. King was staring at the papers, willing his mind to see something, anything that could help identify the jerk who dared endanger Stephanie. As a former cop, he had participated in many similar investigations, and Tank had asked him to lead this search. Arranging and rearranging the papers he attempted to find the answers they needed.

Chester Deuce had a pair of head phones covering his head that made him look like a pilot of some military aircraft. He was intently listening to the recording of the conversation that Vince made, of the phone call from the stalker. Every sound was digitally separated and listened to, individually, in the hope of identifying details of the origin of the call. Deuce appeared to be in another world, he sat at his desk furiously writing notes on the numerous papers now spread out all around him. His hands flew between his notes and the console beside him. His fingers constantly adjusting dials and levers to sharpen the sounds he had isolated. You couldn't tell by looking at him, but Deuce was close to narrowing down the physical location the call came from.

Hank Forcher arrived on the floor. He headed over to King and started asking questions. Hank knew that he had the skills that would be needed to follow Stephanie to the meeting place specified by the stalker. As big as he was, Hank was the best at stealth mode, and he was not about to let her out of his sight. King welcomed the help. They would need to track her and he knew of Hanks connection to Stephanie. He could be a good asset to the team.

Chester Rodriguez walked into the conference room. Ranger was meeting with the whole team. King was outlining the information gathered thus far in the investigation. He nodded at Rodriguez as he walked in just after the meeting had started. Many questions were asked, and answers attempted. They all knew that paying close attention the minutia often proved necessary to solve the mystery. Finally King gestured to Rodriguez. He stood and held up a newspaper.

"The former Mazur residence has been recently vandalized," he stated. You could have heard a pin drop. What are the chances that that had been a coincidence? A new discussion began, Rodriguez answering as many of the questions as he could. And making notes on the things they needed to look for next.

Suddenly Ranger looked up. Stephanie was close by, he could feel her. Sure enough, within seconds, she was standing at the door. He held his hand out to her and she skirted around the table to get to him. A brief synopsis of the investigation was given to her, and they continued on with their discussion. Stephanie was listening closely, she wanted to understand as much as she could about this stalker. Information was power, especially in cases involving crazy people. A slight smile played on her lips. She was experiencing yet another difference in her relationships between Ranger and Joe. She knew that Joe would be keeping as much of this information to himself as he could. Leaving her in the dark, to fumble around trying to figure it out for herself. Who knows how many mishaps she stumbled into just because she had not been properly informed, because Joe held back. She turned her face to Ranger, and he understood her smile. He nodded slightly and smiled back. Her safety would always be his first priority. They were in this together and he knew there would be a time that her instincts would prove to be critical. He also wanted to be there for her as he realized that this could take an emotional toll. Watching her carefully for her reaction, he asked Rodriguez to share the article with her. Stephanie scanned the newspaper. And there is was, she swallowed hard. This address was her grandparents old house. Her grandmother could be in danger too. She met his eyes.

"We've got to talk to her," she said. He nodded and wrapped his arms around her, lending her the emotional support she needed.

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_1974_

Helen burst into the front door of her parents home. She has some fantastic news and she couldn't wait to share it with her mother.

"Mom," she called as she entered the front hall. "Mom, are you there?"

Helen walked into the front room. There were boxes and packages on the couch and floor. She made her way through the dining room in to the kitchen. The house was

quiet. Way too quiet for her mother. She could not imagine where she could be. It would be time to start dinner soon. Her mother always had dinner ready by 6:00 every night. She should be here. Walking out into the back yard, Helen looked around to see more boxes strewn about. She was now getting worried. None of this felt right.

Back in the house, Helen called out again. "Mom?"

Only silence in response. She started up the stairs, moving hesitantly, one step at a time. Not right, this is not right. She was thinking to herself. The step, third from the top squeaked. She should have remembered that, it had always squeaked. But this time it nearly made her heart stop, as if making noise could cause things to be worse up there.

Walking down the hall, she approached her mothers room. The door was ajar and she could just see inside. She panicked and pushed through the door. Her mother was kneeling over her father who was curled up on the floor. Her heart was in her throat. What could have happened? Falling to her knees, she wanted to ask what was going on, but she could not find her voice. She just looked at her mother.

Slowly Edna looked up at Helen. "You will not speak of this, ever," she said quietly.

Helen swallowed. She could hardly breathe. What happened?

"Helen, look at me," Edna said. "This never happened, can you understand that?" she implored. "You must forget about it, and never say anything about it ever."

The two women helped to get Harry up, sitting him on the edge of the bed. He moaned and wrapped his arms around his ribs. Wordlessly Edna wrapped a couple of ace bandages around his torso. She gave him some aspirin and left him to rest. Grabbing Helen's hand she led her downstairs and they sat at the kitchen table.

In a low voice, she told Helen about the visitor that had come by earlier. The man had once been a friend of her father's, they worked together during the war. He came here today trying to find something. Something that he thought that her father had here. He was all smiles and happy, until Harry told him that he had no idea what he was talking about. He didn't seem to believe him, and became angry. It was all so confusing.

"Your father thought that Sam was dead," Edna said.

He thought that he had been killed in the same explosion that could have killed him. He would have been killed too if not for his friend Augosto. He was told that everyone else had died. He believed what he had been told, he had no reason to search out anyone else to ask about it. It was still something that didn't feel right in his mind. Everything was just wrong about that night. But he thought that he was the only survivor, up until the moment that he opened the door to see Sam there.

Helen listened silently. It was hard to believe that anyone would want to hurt her father. But she was mostly concerned that her mother insisted that she never ask any more questions, and not to talk about it. What could they possibly be involved in?

Finally Edna looked at her and asked, "Why did you come by today Helen?"

In barely more than a whisper she said, "I wanted to tell you that I am pregnant."

Helen stood up and walked out of the house. She went home to Frank and never spoke of this day to him, or to anyone, ever again.

She redirected her worries. Throwing herself into becoming the best wife, homemaker, mother that the Burg had ever seen. Some deep part of her changed. Appearance was everything, especially when keeping secrets. So she allowed herself to be the best at what she was familiar with. The Burg stereotype. Ironically, her participation in the Burg gossip mill was an attempt at keeping attention away from her family. Their secrets would not be discovered. And it was an effective measure, until Stephanie came along. Year after year, she brought the focus right back where Helen couldn't allow it to be. Helen responded by fighting to throw the attention back away from them, or at least by playing another redirecting game, finally placing the attention on Joe and Stephanie. Deep in her mind she believed that if they got married, she would have effectively deflected the unwanted scrutiny. And a part of her was willing to let Stephanie take the heat. Justifying it as a necessary sacrifice, to a problem that she never actually understood. It was all that she could think to do.

Edna checked on Harry. He was sleeping, so she left him in the bedroom and went to the garage. The body was still there. She would take care of this.

She dug, and dug and dug. For such a small woman, she had a lot of strength. For a desperate woman, she had a lot of grit. She pulled the body from the garage, dragging it to the hole. She pushed, and pulled it to the edge, and then kicked it one last time. Watching it tumble to the bottom.

When the last shovel of dirt was packed tight in the hole. Edna turned and walked back to the house. She would plant some raspberry bushes in this spot on Monday. Now, she would take a long shower, and never think of this day again. All of the images were tucked away into a little box in the back of her mind. And she left them there.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Another phone call for Stephanie came into the RangeMan front desk. This time, however, she was able to take the call. She was surprised, it was Joe on the line.

"What's up," she asked as she answered the phone.

"Steph, we've got to talk," Joe said. She could hear the edge to his voice. Something was wrong, and she was immediately concerned.

"Joe, are you okay?" she asked him. Silence on the line for a long moment did nothing to assuage her fears. Finally he spoke.

"It's not me, Steph, I think it could be you that is in danger," he said. "Can we meet sometime real soon?" he asked.

Stephanie arranged to meet with Joe later that afternoon. It was interesting to her. Now that she was not his concern, he seemed concerned. Enough to make himself uncomfortable with sharing information with her. 'You gotta appreciate the irony here', she thought to herself as she hung up the phone.

She turned back to Ranger and leaned into his embrace. He kissed the top of her head.

"Do you want me to come along?" he asked her.

"No, this is hard enough on Joe, we'd better make it as easy on him as we can. We can use any information he is willing to give."

Ranger nodded and hugged her tighter. She drew all the strength she needed from him. As she pulled away, she kissed him. She held both of his hands in hers, and brought them up to her lips. She kissed his hands gently, and smiled up at him.

"I'll be back soon." She grabbed her bag and walked to the door.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Every one knows the Bombshell Bounty Hunter. Stephanie Plum was a legend in the Burg. More importantly, everyone here seemed to like talking about Ms Plum. As if they took pride in knowing personal details about the young woman. And they were more than willing to share their information. Heck, they tripped all over themselves to prove how much they knew.

Samuel Lawrence Williams III was new in this town, but it didn't stop him from getting answers to any question that he asked. He was genteel, soft spoken and kind looking. A grandfather figure, so to speak. Not one person seemed curious as to why he asked so many questions about Stephanie. After all, why would one be concerned if you asked questions about the Liberty bell in Philadelphia. It was a local treasure, a source of pride. Sharing your insights seemed completely reasonable.

Samuel introduced himself as Lawrence, going by his middle name to distinguish himself from his father who went by Sam. And his grandfather who had insisted on Samuel. It was funny, he thought to himself, that he would distinguish his name from his father, when here he was dressing in his father's clothing to achieve the older gentleman look that he knew he could exploit.

They should all be more careful, he thought. Here he was, sitting on a park bench, throwing crumbs to birds, and pretending to be interested in the adorable children on the playground. When he was in actuality watching the interaction between Stephanie Plum and Officer Joe Morelli. He was a bit disappointed that he couldn't get closer to hear what they were saying, but he felt he could discern a few details from their body language.

Stephanie was seated with her legs crossed away from the officer. Her arms were folded across her chest and she sat very still. Officer Morelli was quite different. He spoke with his hands. Making wide arcs with his arms, or cutting the air with his hand in quick successive moves as if making a point. His face was also much easier to read. He seemed frustrated, while she kept her face impassive. He glared at her, while she tried to look away from his face as much as possible, her focus on her hands now clasped on her lap in front of her.

Finally they both stood up. Lawrence expected to see the officer storm away. But he was surprised. Ms Plum looked at officer Morelli. Now he was the one who looked away. Suddenly she threw her arms around him and gave him a quick hug. She stepped back placing her hand on his cheek, tilting her head to the side looking at him. He seemed unable to move, standing there so still. Then she kissed him on the cheek and waved as she turned and walked away. Joe Morelli watched her go. Now his face was completely unreadable to Lawrence. He seemed sad. And relieved, and lost as he watched her until he couldn't see her anymore. Then he turned the opposite direction and slowly walked away.

Well, thought Lawrence, that didn't help much. He was more confused than ever about this young lady. He had not seen her personally interact with anyone before. It was obvious to him that Stephanie had a strange affect on the people in her life. It wouldn't stop his plans, however. He stood up. Ms Plum and her family would pay. And they would pay dearly for the wrongs they caused him and his family.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Hope you are enjoying the journey. RL is trying to take over this week, hope you won't mind if I post every other day for a while. Thanks, as ever, for your comments, I love reading the reviews, it lets me know we are in this together!_


	4. Chapter 4

Standard FF Disclaimers

April 2012

Accepting Destiny Part 2

Chapter 4

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_1942_

Augosto Henrique Lenin was the name that he took while on assignment in Argentina. He wasn't sure why he had kept it when he came to Cuba, as he was here, in hiding. It just seemed comfortable to use the name he had been known by for so many years. Augosto walked along the beach and watched the waves hit up against the rocky shore line, creating a fuzzy white layer of bubbles and foam that quickly dissipated as the water receded. Almost mesmerized by the rhythm of the ocean, his thoughts started to wander. He closed his eyes and saw the images that would haunt him forever. A visit back to his home country had left him with some information he was unsure how to handle. He had been loyal and blind for so many years. But somewhere deep inside he still had the ability to recognize evil. He was no expert in metallurgy, but he knew that this information had the potential to cause such destruction, his country may never recover from it. On impulse he stole all of the written materials and all traces of the substance that had been discovered. In the dark of night, the 3 scientists responsible for the discovery were eliminated and Augosto disappeared.

And so he had been hiding in Cuba, for almost a year now. He had been an active spy for the last 30 years. During that time, the things that he had seen and done did not always sit well with him personally, but he told himself that he had a job to do and he made every effort to ensure that his assignments were completed. It was what he was paid to do. He often wondered what had happened to allow him to suddenly grow a conscience. But it _had_ happened and now he was faced with his decision and the task of eliminating this substance with such devastating possibilities. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure that the act of destroying the substance wouldn't be as dangerous as the use it was intended for. He was studying the problem and searching for the answer. Augosto knew that his life was in danger. He knew that many were after the stolen technology, but no one knew for sure who had it. That was the only reason that he was still alive.

The explosion at the cantina offered an opportunity that he couldn't ignore. It had been an impulse decision to grab Harry. Two thoughts hitting his mind simultaneously were that he liked Harry and didn't want him to get hurt, and that Harry could help him carry out his plan. So he pulled Harry out, and ran. Within 24 hours they had left Cuba.

Sam had watched the move that Augosto had made that night. His suspicions had been confirmed only moments before the explosion. It had been a bad explosion as far the complete destruction of the cantina was concerned. But fortunately there had been no casualties among the SeaBees. It did not distract Sam, he was watching and he was ready to follow Augosto and Harry. It had been something Augosto had said while telling his story that had helped the pieces come together in Sam's mind. The vague but definite reference to undercover research was part of it, but the stolen technology storyline gave it away. He was right to have been following Augosto. Sam was certain he knew something. This could be the chance that he had been waiting for since he got to Cuba months ago. His buyers would be ecstatic. Many countries were willing to pay handsomely to get a hold of this technology. Sam stood to make more money on this one transaction that he ever had before. Two members of his team went with him as they pursued Augosto. They stayed out of sight, just watching for now.

Sam was not disappointed, he discovered that Augosto had packed up the material that he was looking for. In one shot, he had found the thief and the stolen goods. "This is going to be too easy," Sam said to himself. "Like taking candy from a baby." At least that was his first thought. But Augosto proved that he was not to be underestimated. His skills at evasion gave Sam a run for his money. It was a little bit tricky to follow him as Augosto zigzagged across the islands of Cuba and up into the Florida Keys. But they eventually caught up with him on Islamorada.

Down the street from their motel, Harry found a small family run tienda- _store_. They had seen these small mom and pop type stores in every place they had been. Sometimes they were big enough to be a walk-in room on a corner. Other times they were a closet size room accessed in the middle of the block by opening the top half of a split door. Shelves lining the space displayed what was offered for sale. Harry was preparing another simple meal from the groceries they had picked up at the tienda on the corner.

Augosto was on the alert, something did not feel right. He pulled his gun out of its holster tucking it behind his back, in the waistband. Not a moment too soon. Harry watched in horror as one of Sam's men kicked in the door. He confronted Augosto, insulting him by offering him the chance to become wealthy by selling the substance and getting the payout of a lifetime. Augosto refused. They both knew that even had he accepted, it was just a ruse. There would be no 'partnerships' formed here today. The man threatened him with a gun. Poor Harry was at a loss. He had no weapons, but he couldn't just sit there and watch him kill Augosto. Without thinking too much about it, he charged at the man, hitting him low in the gut, and taking him down. Instantly there was chaos. Shots were being fired everywhere. Sharp snapping and pinging sounds echoed through the room when the bullets hit the walls or ricocheted off of metal frames. Another man came out of nowhere, he had a gun too. Suddenly it was still, all noise had stopped. A gun was now aimed at Augosto and another was aimed at Harry. The man he had tackled was still on the floor, so Harry lunged at him and grabbed his gun. At his movement everyone started shooting again. Harry was shooting wildly, and emptied the clip. Another silence followed. Every one had been hit. He gasped when he saw Augosto on the floor, Harry crawled over to him. He leaned in close to hear him as he spoke in a garbled whisper.

"Destroy the stuff Harry, remember what we talked about," he said. "Take the suitcases and don't let anyone get them from you. The stuff is bad Harry, very bad. Don't let anyone have it."

Augosto closed his eyes. He was no longer breathing, and Harry knew that he was gone.

He was shaking as he checked the other men. They were dead too. The shot that Harry had taken went clean through the shoulder. The damage was minimal, he would make it. What he would always struggle with, was the fact that he had shot and killed another human being. He would have to deal with that for the rest of his life.

With no other options, Harry went through the pockets of the men on the floor. He gathered wallets, extra smaller guns and ammo, keys, etc. Quickly he grabbed the suitcases, and left the motel. Halfway down the street, he noticed the car. Harry looked at the keys he had grabbed, sure enough, they were for this car. He drove away, intending to ditch the car later, his only thought was to get out of there. Fast. His heart was still racing, he had a horrible feeling all the way down in the pit of his stomach. He would never be the same again.

Sam watched the car leave. He had been making a phone call in the motel office, and was just going to see what progress his team had made with Augosto. It had not been part of the plan for them to leave him behind, and Sam was a little bit annoyed. He rushed to Augosto's room, the door was wide open and he was shocked at what he saw. Three men were dead on the floor, three guns were there with them. He grabbed all of them, he would dispose of them as soon as possible. Sam realized that Harry must have been in the car. And he hoped that he had been too scared to take anything with him. He began his search for the stolen materials, becoming furious when he couldn't find even a trace of it. As he opened the door to leave, he was confronted by several undercover cops. Of course the shooting had been heard and attracted the attention of several guests at the motel. It was just bad luck for Sam to have the cops arrive before he had had a chance to get away. They grabbed Sam, frisked him, and hauled him into the back of a car. The evidence was stacked up against him. His gun was found, as well as all of the others. Three dead bodies in a room that he was leaving was all the evidence the cops had needed to arrest him at the scene.

Months went by, Sam was 'detained' indefinitely. And he had no one to help him out of this mess. His cover as the head of the SeaBee's team in Cuba, had always been respectable. But it couldn't help him now. The only thing he had going for him today was the fact that they had been in the Keys, and not still in Cuba, when this all happened. There would have been no trial if he had been found with the body of a Cuban and the gun that killed him. Their justice would have been swift and final. Here in the states, he had a chance to state his case. And the hope that a jury would believe him. First, however, they needed to find out who he was.

Under several assumed names, Sam had been acting as an 'agent' for years. Arms dealer was another term for his job description. He had no loyalties, he worked with whoever offered the highest price for the goods he sold. Calling him a mercenary would have been kind. Sam was the worst kind of human being. He had no conscience, no remorse for what he did. He was interested only in the amount of money he could get out of every transaction. His wife and family were just a front for him. They were not aware of his double life. To them he was a man with a big heart, helping the SeaBee's with their goals, supporting the war effort.

It was hard on the family to have Sam gone for such long periods at a time. But they supported his 'altruistic' goals. They were never aware that he was being tried for murder. It would be years before any of the family ever knew what he was really doing while spending time away from them.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

First stop for Mona and Edna this morning, was a trip to the beauty parlor. Mona wanted to be all gussied up for their visit to RangeMan later on this morning. Edna insisted that they go to Mona's favorite place, she wanted to see for herself that there actually was another place that could perform hair color magic as great as her friend Dolly. A woman dressed in a bright floral caftan greeted Mona with a huge hug as they entered the salon. She had her hair in a do that was piled at least 6 inches high on top of her head. Being a woman of diminished stature she must have felt she needed a little bit of added height. Mona made the introductions. Rosie was the proprietor of the beauty parlor and the head colorist. She turned to Edna, immediately she embraced her, and welcomed as her "newest friend in all the world." Rosie was all business after their enthusiastic introductions. She asked what she could do with their hair today and they got started. Edna chose to color her hair in the cherry red that she had first seen on Mona. And Mona decided to try something new, being brave enough to try a new concoction that Rosie called Margarita Magic. It was magic because it depended on your mood as you chose the color. Mona went with a strawberry margarita mood today and came out looking like 'Strawberry shortcake'. She absolutely loved it. Before they left the salon, the duo started calling themselves "Pink and Pinker" and they were ready to make their debut at their next stop. RangeMan.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The conference room was empty as Ranger and Stephanie walked in and sat down.

The others would be joining them soon for an update.

"Joe was concerned because of what they found at the vandalized yard," Stephanie was explaining. "The cops know about what we do about the stalker, Roger has been working with his friend at the TPD."

"What did he tell you about the vandalism?" Ranger asked her. He knew that the investigation had been quick, but that the site had been, and still was restricted.

Stephanie went back to their conversation in her mind. Joe had seemed so agitated. He took a while to actually get to the information that he had come to share. His first instinct, still, was to complain about Stephanie and her crazy job. She had been hoping that as friends, he would have been able to let go of those feelings. She shrugged, maybe it was still too soon. She would have to be patient. She had hidden her disappointment and carefully tried to steer the conversation back to the vandalism.

"There was radiation there Ranger. They know that whatever had been there has been removed, but the levels of dangerous radiation that seeped into the surrounding ground were at such high levels, they have no idea what could have caused it.

"We need to find it, Ranger. Whatever this guy has in mind, he has the radioactive stuff, it is dangerous, and he may not know it. If he has it close to him, it will be making him sick."

The room started filling up now. Roger brought in his team, and motioned for Gene to come in and join them. RangeMan had access to all kinds of resources. None were more valuable than his own men. Gene was here today as a new member of the team. His specific area of expertise was needed now that they knew more about the vandalized property. Gene had been hired as an explosives expert. He was the best with his knowledge of chemical compounds. He had a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. They hoped that he would be able to help figure out what they were looking for. They were not disappointed, Gene charged right in with questions. He offered up ideas and speculation about what it was they were looking for.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Shortly after the team split up after the meeting, the visitors arrived. Mona and Edna were ushered up to the conference room as Stephanie and Ranger were still there. Stephanie was the immediate recipient of huge hugs from both women. She tried hard not to smile too big at their new hair dos. But they really were a pair!

Mona started right into the purpose of their visit. This was one of her favorite parts of her job. She loved to thank people for their generosity to the team's charities. She dug in her oversized purse and pulled out a shiny wooden plaque. Pulling Ranger forward, she grandly presented him with an award in appreciation of the fund raising efforts of RangeMan. She vigorously shook his hand and thanked him over and over.

Ranger smiled at her and tried to take his hand back. Stephanie finally came to his rescue, walking over to hold up the plaque so she could get a good look at it. She almost giggled when she saw the photo that had been mounted to it. They captured the moment when Ranger was about to hit Boomer when he nearly ran Stephanie over. Whoever the photographer was, he had a warped sense of humor. Stephanie teased Ranger, asking him which wall they were going to hang the plaque on. She even offered to grab Louis to help hang it right now. Mona looked so pleased with Stephanie's enthusiasm. She missed the grimace that flashed briefly across Rangers face.

Edna had been surprisingly quiet during this whole encounter. She had some heavy things on her mind. Mona had some errands to run before getting back to the office, so Edna suggested that she could get a ride home, and waved Mona off so that she wouldn't be late.

Stephanie couldn't believe her good luck. They had wanted to talk with her grandmother alone, and here she was making it happen.

"Stephanie, I need to talk to you," Edna said at the same time that Stephanie spoke.

"Grandma, I need to talk to you," she said.

Edna nodded at her granddaughter and sat down at the table. Ranger and Stephanie followed her lead and pulled out some chairs to sit in. Stephanie looked at Ranger, he nodded to her encouraging her to take the lead with this discussion. She took a deep breath.

"Grandma," she began. "I need to talk to you about something that just happened at your old house." Stephanie was alarmed to see the look that flashed across Edna's face. Edna wondered how Stephanie knew, so she just nodded.

Taking a deep breath, Stephanie started talking. She reached over and took her grandmothers hand. She explained how there had been some vandalism in the backyard. Edna nearly passed out when Stephanie said that something had been dug up, and the police were still trying to figure out what had been taken. The panic that she felt kept Edna from asking any questions. But the questions were running through her mind. Who was digging up the yard. It had to be the same person that planted the metal balls in her bedroom. But who was it and why were they tormenting her? What if the police found evidence of the body? What if they found her gun? What if the person digging already found the gun and was going to blackmail her? And how much did Stephanie know about what was in her backyard. What must she think of her?

Suddenly Edna realized that Stephanie was looking at her.

"Grandma, are you okay?" she asked.

"What did they do with the raspberry bushes," grandma finally asked.

Ranger looked at Stephanie, but she seemed as confused as he was by that question. The raspberry bushes were on the opposite side of yard. Not even close to the tree where the digging had taken place.

"Um," Stephanie replied. "The raspberries are fine grandma. The bushes are as big as ever."

"Then how did they get to the body?" Grandma asked.

There were three very confused people sitting there in the conference room. Ranger looked at Stephanie at the same moment she looked at him. "What was she talking about?" Their eyes turned to grandma.

"Grandma, what are you talking about?" Stephanie asked.

"What are you talking about?" Grandma countered.

Stephanie slowly explained about the radioactivity that had seeped into the ground under the tree. She told her that Gene speculated that there had been some kind of substance, maybe metal, that was unstable when it was buried.

Understanding was slowly dawning. Grandma now knew where the metal balls had come from. And while she was safe for the time being, as no one had found the body, she was alarmed that someone knew some of the secrets that had been hidden for so long.

Ranger turned to Edna. "Do you mind telling us what you know," he said.

She drew in a deep breath, and braced herself. This wasn't a story she ever thought she would be sharing with anyone.

"_It was in 1974," _she began…

A very special anniversary was coming up this week. Edna and Harry were celebrating 30 years of marriage. Edna intended to make this occasion special and had spent all morning shopping for the items on her list. Hauling in armloads of boxes and bags from her shopping trip, Edna heard a knock on the front door. She tossed everything on the couch on her way through the living room to answer the door.

Opening the door to a very distinguished looking gentleman, Edna smiled. She liked the tweed suit that he wore, especially with the leather elbow patches. It made him look like an intelligent, successful professor. He appeared to be nice, he had a gentle smile on his face as he asked for Harry.

As she invited him in, Edna called to Harry who had been working upstairs. She was about to apologize for the mess of shopping bags, but she stopped. She saw a look on her husbands face that made her heart stop. All at once he was surprised, shocked, angry.

"You were dead," he said in a hoarse whisper. "I was told that you, that everyone had been killed."

Edna had no idea what was going on, but suddenly she did not trust the professor. She had a bad feeling deep in her gut. She excused herself and went directly to the kitchen. She pulled out a chair and climbed up to the top shelf. Reaching all the way to the back she pulled out a lock box. Carefully she set it down on the counter. Quietly she opened the box and pulled out the gun. Loud voices from the other room alarmed her. She was truly scared. Loading the gun, as quickly as she could, she took a deep breath, trying to maintain some sort of calm. With the gun behind her back, she walked back into the living room.

"Sam, Sam…" Harry was trying to say, but it was difficult because Sam was holding him in a choke hold with one arm, and beating him in his ribs with the other.

"I told you, I don't know what you are talking about," Harry squeaked out again.

"How can I believe you Harry?" Sam yelled. "You were with Augosto, you left with him."

"I thought you were dead, I only saw one way to get out of there," Harry tried to explain.

Sam was back to beating hard on Harry, Edna screamed at him to leave her husband alone. Sam didn't seem to even know she was there, he was so intently focused on trying to get information out of Harry.

"Leave him alone!" Edna screamed. Harry jerked his head up, the fear in his eyes told her that he hadn't realized she was there either. And he wished she weren't, he couldn't bear it if she got hurt. The movement caught Sam's attention and he looked into Edna's eyes.

She met his gaze with hatred in her eyes, she took another step forward, he laughed at her. She had only one thought and that was to save Harry. She would do what ever it took. Another step forward. Sam let go of Harry. He was howling with laughter now, choking on his words as he ridiculed her. Now he took a step toward Edna. Harry gasped. Yelling to Edna to run out of there.

Sam was still laughing at her. "What do you think a small little woman like you can do to me?" He was ready to flick her out of his way when she brought her arms forward, pointing the gun at his face.

"I will give one chance and one chance only to get the hell out of my home," Edna said, spitting venom in every word. "You had better leave now," she warned.

"Or what, you gonna kill me little lady?" Sam spat at her.

"This is your one chance," Edna said again. "Leave"

Harry had slumped to the floor after Sam let him go. Lack of oxygen had nearly made him pass out. Sam figured he would take care of Edna and go back to finish off Harry. If Harry really did not have the metals, he could not afford to let anyone know that there was still interest in the substance after all this time. He took one more step toward her. It was his last.

Edna looked at her gun, it looked like it was pointed the right way. She closed her eyes and screamed as she pulled the trigger. The single bullet hit its mark. Sam went down with a loud thud. Slowly Edna opened her eyes. There was a small hole in the middle of Sam's forehead. She couldn't breathe for a long moment. But when she realized that he

was dead, she collapsed and started crying. Big sobs, barely letting her breathe, as her chest heaved. Edna curled up into herself, folding her legs and wrapping her arms around them. She laid her head on her knees and let the tears come. She had no idea how long she was like that. Then she felt Harry wrap his arms around her.

"Are you alright Hon?' he said quietly. He rocked her gently. He knew how she felt. He knew that there was a pain deep in the pit of her stomach. That her heart hurt, and that it was hard to wrap her head around the fact that she had killed. She had killed Sam to protect him. There was no way to describe the bond that they now felt. But he would never have wished this on anyone, especially not Edna. Eventually they got the body out to the garage, but by the time they did, Edna could see that Harry was hurting. She tried to get him upstairs, he made it to the bedroom before he couldn't go any further, and he fainted.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

She had 12 more hours. Lawrence would meet Stephanie at the old Mazur residence and then he could exact his revenge. Once again he spread the notes out, searching for clues in the journal his father had left behind. For three years now, he had studied these papers. He had become obsessed. His father had disappeared 30 years ago. Lawrence had been the oldest son, and so much had fallen to his shoulders. His mother had always been his biggest concern. She became fragile, in body and mind. That she held on as long as she did surprised everyone.

Her death was not unexpected, but it was unwelcome. Lawrence saw how much his children missed her. He missed her too. But as the eldest son, he took his responsibilities seriously and carried out her wishes. Proceeds from the sale of her house would be split evenly between all the family members. It was hard, but Lawrence tackled the task of moving all of his mothers things out of the house so that repairs and cleaning could take place. It was this process that led him to discover the journal. Hidden in the back of the closet, it would have been easy to miss. But the handyman helping him pulled on a loose piece of paneling and uncovered it.

This obsession had started, it took over his life. He stared at the papers for hours, he spoke of nothing else, speculating on every detail of his fathers life and supposed death His wife begged him to stop. He didn't listen to her. She left him. His kids begged him to stop. He couldn't. They pulled away from him too. It hurt him, but he couldn't bring himself to leave it behind until he had solved the mystery of his father's final disappearance. He owed him that, didn't he?

12 more hours, he thought. Lets see how your family likes to have one of their own disappear. How will they take it? Will it destroy them like it did him, his mother. We will soon see.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO


	5. Chapter 5

Standard FF disclaimers

April 2012

Accepting Destiny Part 2

Chapter 5

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The whole burg was out at Stivas tonight. The viewing for old Charles Holdeman was not only bringing in lot of curiosity seekers, as Mr Holdeman was well known in the Burg. But The Knights of Columbus were going to be there too. He had been in the military and Charles would have the proper respect shown to him tonight. Edna had heard that it was to be a closed casket viewing. Again she wondered what was the point. Why have a viewing, if you don't have anything to 'view'. There had been more than one occasion where she had taken things into her own hands and attempted to see the bodies hidden under closed lids. It had never ended well, but in every case, she _had_ managed to see the bodies inside.

A place in her mind compared every body she saw to the one she buried so long ago. Maybe it was odd, even a bit morbid. But it was her reality. A body with a proper viewing was specially taken care of. Make up was applied, hair was styled. They were dressed, and the clothing was perfectly placed without any wrinkles or imperfections. They were not real. At least not real looking. Edna always wondered what kind of care the body received when it wasn't going to be shown. Did they attempt to do anything at all? Or was the body in its 'natural' dead state. Still, she saw the body in her backyard. The look on his face etched forever in her mind. And she wondered, did they leave that last look on the faces of the bodies that they never intended anyone to see.

Mona did not know of Edna's predisposition to peeking into closed caskets. She approached the viewing as most of the other seniors in the Burg. It was a social event. She didn't even care if they made it any where near the casket. She would be busy talking, maybe even flirting a little. For a while everything was exactly how she expected it to be. The dynamic duo, Pink and Pinker, caused quite a stir with their new hair dos. Mona loved the attention. That is, after all, the reason why she played the color game to begin with. And she could see that Edna was enjoying herself too. Mona did not know what the determined look on Edna's face meant. It never occurred to her to closely watch Edna. She was a grown woman. What could possibly happen?

She would never ask that question again. Not where Edna was concerned.

A scream from the next room startled Mona. She hurried toward it, along with the entire crowd. What they all saw was shocking. A short crow bar was still jammed into the casket. The casket itself had been nailed shut, in the hope of avoiding just this kind of scene. Turns out it was actually the cause. The lid of the casket had been pried open about 4 inches. Enough for someone close to get a look inside. And while everyone there knew just who had done this. The suspect was nowhere to be seen.

Charles' widow was being comforted by her family, and friends. The mortified funeral director was apologizing profusely. People in attendance were still looking around, expecting to see Edna. But she was now in the refreshments room. Alone. Everyone else had left the room to check out the noise. So, she happily stuffed cookies into her purse.

"I'll be glad to make you a batch of my famous oatmeal cookies sometime," Mona said to her when she finally caught up with Edna. "I've been told that they are pretty darn good, would even rival the ones they serve here," she continued.

Edna stared at her. She had been caught. And all of a sudden, Edna cared that it looked bad. She cared that someone was watching her crazy antics. She didn't want Mona thinking she was some senile old lady losing her mind. And suddenly she knew that she didn't care if she ever saw another body again in her life. Mona had her arm draped across Edna's shoulders as they walked calmly out of Stiva's. Leaving the commotion behind. Leaving the cookies behind. Leaving the body behind.

And she did not care if she ever came to another viewing again.

As they left, Mona checked out the gentleman across the street. He looked like a professor or something. He was wearing a tweed jacket with leather patches on the elbows. Looking very distinguished. "Hmmmm," she thought, he seemed to be watching Edna. She was about to point him out to her, but when she turned to speak to her she saw Edna go white. All color drained from her face. Mona was afraid that she was going to faint. But Edna took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.

"Edna, honey," Mona said. "Are you alright?"

Edna was about to say something about that gentleman over there, when she looked up and realized that he was gone. Maybe it had been her imagination. Of course I imagined it," she said to herself. Men who have been buried in your backyard, with raspberries growing over them, don't come back from the dead to visit. Still, she would have a hard time shaking the awful feeling that she had. Deep in the pit of her stomach.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

All the way back in a basement room at RangeMan, a chemical lab had been roughly set up. Gene had insisted that it was as isolated as they could get it. Every precaution was taken, he would leave nothing up to chance. Dressed fully from head to toe in a contamination suit, Gene continued his examination of the small metal balls. As fascinated as he was in the discovery of this new substance, Gene couldn't help but be concerned that it had been exposed all this time.

Granted in 1942 there would not have been laws in place concerning the treatment or transportation of a substance such as this. Most of what they knew of this type of material has been discovered and written up in scientific journals in only the past 40 years or so. But they did know now, and this little box of metal balls was extremely dangerous. Gene marveled at the way it had come to his possession. He couldn't believe the story he was told, it was too incredible.

At the end of their conversation, Edna had had one more question for Ranger. She reached into a large shopping bag sitting on the floor. Carefully pulling the box out and placing it on the table, she looked up at Ranger. He nodded slightly. She swallowed hard.

"Um, not long ago, this box found its way into my bedroom at Helen's house," she started. "At first I thought they were some of Harry's marble collection, they look a lot like the peltier shooters that he loved to collect. But none of them had any color swirls in them, so then I remembered something that Harry had told me about his friend Augosto. He said he had two big suitcases full of small metal balls. Harry was told that they were dangerous. He told me that he had gotten rid of them. I had never seen them before, so I didn't know at first, and when I realized what they were, I panicked. I made Helen hide them in the garage, and when I moved in with Mona, I hid them in her garage."

Edna has been speaking fast, as if she couldn't wait to get the words out so that she could get rid of the box she had found.

"If these are dangerous, I don't want them around," she said. And with a sad look on her face she continued. "I couldn't go to the police, how would I explain this. I couldn't even be sure that they would believe me. What if I got into trouble…" her words trailed off. She looked up into Rangers eyes. "Can you help me?"

Ranger didn't waste a moment. He informed Gene what they potentially had and asked him to take care of them short term until they all knew what they were dealing with.

Gene immediately took every protocol, when dealing with toxic substances, very seriously. The 'lab' was set up for examination purposes. And here he was, realizing exactly what it was that they had here. It was a lot like solving a mystery. Clues were taken, and conclusions made. There were legends about this substance. It was thought to be part of a chemical warfare experiment gone bad. Scientists working on the discovery of a rare metallic element in Germany had ended up dead. The metal substance had disappeared. Most of the notes had been destroyed. Only enough remained to create a mystery full of conspiracy theories. That he was actually holding the stuff in his hands was beyond anything he had ever imagined. This was the Holy Grail of the scientific community.

The conclusions that Gene came up with were, simply put, that this substance was mostly metallic in nature. It was a rare magnetic material that was from the neodymium family. In its original form, it was unstable. Dangerous toxic levels were only managed by going through a hardening process. In the annealing process it had to be heated to very high temperatures to temper it and make it take on its magnetic characteristics. The story was that the substance was going to be used in its original dangerous form, as a weapon. It was a good thing that it had disappeared. The plans that had been made for its use would have had devastating consequences.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The timeline was closing in on her. Stephanie felt the apprehension grow with each passing minute. Ever since the phone call as they were leaving the beach, she knew that this time was coming. Forcing someone to experience this dread drawn out for so long was either genius or just plain mean. They still did not know who the stalker was. Which meant they didn't know what he wanted. Hard to negotiate or second guess someone whose motives are not known.

Slumped down on the couch, she waited for the moment when she would have to leave. Closing her eyes, thoughts of the past few days pounded her brain. She was still reeling from the revelation that her grandparents had hidden such a huge secret. Her childhood memories came back to her. She remembered how her grandfather had such a hard time winding down every day after work. At some point she had realized that he needed Edna as a calming influence on him. It was now apparent that they both needed a lot of alone time to help each other continue to live in the land of denial. Stephanie even had the presence of mind to realize that she had been truly fortunate that her grandfather could manage to become himself again in time to play with her on Sundays. She could recognize it now as the grand gesture that it was. Because the alternative was that she would have lost something extremely valuable if she had never been able to know him, and have him in her life. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if that was how her mother felt. How was it growing up with a father who was only accessible on Sundays. A vague thought formed somewhere, maybe she should talk to her about that some time..

Strong hands gently rubbed her shoulders. Relaxing her muscles. Allowing the tension to melt away. Stephanie moaned slightly in appreciation. Ranger always knew the right thing to do for her. Instinctively she tilted her head to the side, waiting for him to plant a kiss on her neck. She wasn't disappointed. Ranger's fingers gently brushed her skin as he pulled her hair back. She felt his breath as he leaned in to kiss her, her heart melted as he nuzzled her neck and made that growling sound that vibrated down to her core. She reached up with both hands, placing her hands on his face, she pulled his head down into an upside down kiss. The playful kiss turned passionate quickly, as Ranger moved around to join her on the couch. The timeline would just have to wait.


	6. Chapter 6

Standard FF Disclaimers

April 2012

Accepting Destiny Part 2

Chapter 6

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Samuel Lawrence Williams III had never known his father. Not very well, at least, because his father had always been out of the country on some special mission to save the world. With what Lawrence did know about him. For all the adulation and worship from afar, he should have emulated the characteristics that his father was so well known for at home. Charity, service, loyalty, patriotism. These were the traits that his mother talked about so often, when referring to her absent husband.

It seemed, however, that the traits Lawrence actually inherited were closer to the true nature of his father. Once he understood exactly what he had found in his fathers notes, he was ready to profit from the discovery of the "sacred" metal substance. The stuff that had taken his father away from the family for so long, was now within his grasp, and Lawrence intended to benefit from it as much as possible.

Torturing the Plum family was important to him as well, but a healthy monetary gain would do wonders to 'soothe' his aching soul. So Lawrence crafted his plan, he followed all the clues left by his father. He dug up the metal, still encased in the original suitcases that Augosto had packed it in. In his notes, his father speculated that from what he knew of Harry, the disposal of the suitcases would be done as simply and unobtrusively as possible. A scribble at the bottom of a page turned out to be very accurate. It stated, with more than a bit of sarcasm, "he will probably bury the stuff." An address accompanied the notation. All Lawrence had to do was obtain a radiation detector, and he could search for the metal.

The only tricky part was finding containers for storing toxic materials, that were big enough to accommodate the suitcases. But once he was able to put everything into place, the games began. He spied on Edna, and on Stephanie. Lawrence hated them. He hated them more and more each time he saw them. Hated that they actually looked like a family. Like the family he never had. Not growing up, and not now. Now that his obsession had destroyed his family and drove them away from him. Ironically, Lawrence never knew and never would know about how his father died. It never entered his mind that Harry could have had anything to do with his fathers disappearance. Would it have mattered? Would Lawrence really have had any satisfaction from avenging the father he never knew? If the truth be told. No. It would not have been a strong enough motivator. It was greed that brought him here to Trenton. When it came down to it, that was the only thing that the two men had ever shared.

The game was on. He should be meeting Stephanie in less that an hour. Lawrence got into place, he was ready. All he had to do was grab her and pull her through the adjoining yard and they would be gone. He would leave her at the old house that he had rented. Her family would feel the anguish, the pain, the helplessness of having a loved one disappear. They could look for her, maybe they would find her. It did not matter to him. He would be long gone, he would take the promised fortune and leave forever. And he would live with the satisfaction of knowing he had tormented the family that he thought had so much more than he ever had.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Helen pulled up in front of Mona's house. She had been invited to dinner tonight. Edna knew that Frank would be on cab duty today and thought this would be a good time to have a long over due talk with her daughter. She also felt that Helen deserved to know about the recent developments that involved Stephanie. If she heard anything from the Burg gossip, it would be distorted, only a fraction of the truth ever came through that channel.

Delicious aromas greeted her as Mona opened the door for her and led her back to the kitchen. Edna smiled at her as she came in, and motioned for her to sit at the table. She could tell by the look on Helen's face that she was worried. But she was not ready for this discussion until after they had eaten.

Mona, as usual, brightened up the conversation, her topics ranging from the new (very hot!) members of the Thunder's team, to the gardening tips she learned from her neighbor Mr. Dayton. Helen joined the discussions, laughing and smiling, she had relaxed enough to keep her worries at bay. And when Mona excused herself, leaving them alone, Edna thought that she was ready to hear what she had to say.

This was not an easy conversation to have, and Edna had no idea how to start it, so she just blurted out the first thing she could think of.

"Someone dug up the back yard at the old house," she said.

Helen nodded, she had not only heard about it, she had fielded many calls from the Burg gossipers who had called her hoping that she would somehow have the inside scoop on what had happened and why it had happened and who had done it. She had ended up disappointing the callers. Helen had no idea what was going on. Suddenly the thought presented itself. Her mother did know, that was why was here. She couldn't breathe, she was quite sure she did not want to hear any of this.

"Please don't tell me mother," she started to say. But Edna held up her hand.

"You need to know this Helen," Edna said. "There is something going on, and you need to understand why it is happening."

Helen looked down at her hands clenched tightly in front of her. She shook her head, as if to deflect the bad news she knew was coming. She had lived with secrets she didn't even understand for too long, she didn't really want to be burdened with more. Helen was caught up in her thoughts when she realized that Edna had stopped talking. She looked up at her, and Edna gave her one nod. It said, "pay attention, you have to hear this." So Helen stared at her mother as the story started to unfold.

The conversation ended with Edna explaining that she had gone to Ranger with the metal balls, asking for RangeMan's help. Helen understood now that Stephanie and Ranger knew more than she had known all these years. They knew everything about the horrible secrets that she had helped keep for so long.

Edna watched her daughter. Helen was silent, her eyes vacant and her breathing seemed shallow as if she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. She wasn't sure how she felt about all of this. She actually felt sick, deep in the pit of her stomach. The thought of a body buried in the back yard was unsettling. But far worse was the idea that her mother had been forced to kill a man. That her father had become so withdrawn and moody because he never could live with the fact that he had killed a man. The secrets they now shared pressed down on her. Helen closed her eyes, by what miracle was she going to escape the gossip mills now?

Silently she stood. Helen gave her mother a hug, accompanied by a strange pat on her back, that felt hesitant and awkward. Without taking a single look back she turned and left. Somehow she got into her car. Somehow she drove home. Somehow she walked in to the house and sat down on the couch. She remained there, not moving. Staring ahead, not seeing. And she was there when Frank came home late that night. He saw here there, he recognized that look. He had seen her like this once before. It was the day they found out that she was pregnant with Valerie. He sat down next to his wife. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into a secure hug. All he could do tonight was to reassure her that he was here. He kissed her head and mumbled vague words of comfort, whispers really, asking her to come back to him from where ever she was at the moment. If he hadn't been so concerned about his wife, he would have been furious at his mother in law. This had to be connected to Edna, just like last time. Tonight he would be here to comfort his wife. Tomorrow he would have a nice long talk with Edna.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A cold, steady drizzle was going to complicate things today. Meeting in the backyard meant that there was going to be a big hole of mud by the time Stephanie got there. No one wanted to think of what all the possible outcomes could be when mud, Stephanie and a stalker were added together. Roger King and his team were hoping to avoid anything unpleasant, but still, they did not know what to expect.

Instructions had been clear, she was to come alone. Of course that was not going to happen. Hank would be there, unseen. The whole team was planning to be near enough to get to Stephanie within moments. She had trackers and panic buttons. They were prepared in every way that they could be. But the tension was running high as they set out to have Stephanie there on time. She drove out first, with Hank behind her. Several more black trucks followed. By the time they got to the property, the only car that anyone would have been aware of was Stephanie's.

When she came to a stop in front of her grandparents old house, a myriad of emotions played in her mind. Memories of hiding out. Of her Sundays spent with her grandfather. The look of her grandmothers face when she told her story about Sam. It was a little overwhelming. Stephanie closed her eyes. A tingling at the back of her neck told her that even though she could not see him, Ranger was close. That gave her the courage she needed to get out of her car. Walking around to the back yard, she had her hands in her pockets so that she could hold onto the panic buttons hiding there.

Roger and his team were on foot now, in stealth mode. Everyone but Hank had surrounded the property. Hank drove around to the other side of the block. He had intended to come into the backyard from the opposite side for a better vantage point. As he approached he noticed several vehicles that were not usually parked in this neighborhood. He had done his homework and that had included observing the patterns of people coming and going on this street. An older model four door sedan had been backed into a driveway exactly opposite of the Plum backyard, it looked like someone was ready for a quick getaway. Didn't take much to guess who that car belonged to. It was the other cars that had Hank puzzled. They were dark with tinted windows, no plates. The two cars were waiting, motors running, on either side of the street, as if in position to follow the sedan when it left. Were they all together? Hank had a hundred questions running through his head. This was not right, but before he could alert anyone, Stephanie was on the move.

She had rounded the house and come face to face with a grandfatherly looking gentleman. He was wearing a tweed jacket and an old fedora, and her first thought was that he was lost. But the look on his face alarmed her. It was hard, full of a hatred that was directed at her. If she had expected him to introduce himself, or start into some long monologue detailing the reasons for his actions, she would have been sorely disappointed. The man grabbed her and started running to the car. He pulled her forcefully along, nothing old and feeble about this man. Throwing her into the back seat, he stopped only long enough to pull her hands behind her back and place some plastic strip handcuffs on her.

He peeled out of the driveway, he was only minutes away from completing his plan for Stephanie Plum and her family. Soon he would be gone and on his way to collect the money he had negotiated for the metal balls. Hank watched as the sedan pulled away and was followed by the two other cars. He fell into line, unseen as always, keeping his watch on the car Stephanie was in. He was in contact with the team now, and he gave them every detail that he could. Without warning, the sedan stopped in front of an older home. The dark cars pulled up to the sedan, one angled in front of it, the other in back. Two large men got out of one of the cars and moved up to the house with a speed and agility that belied their size and bulk. Two other men jumped out and opened the sedan door. They fired a shot, and returned to their cars. The other men returned immediately, each carrying a bright yellow plastic crate. These were quickly placed in the trunks of the cars. It looked like they were about to leave, when one of the men walked back to the sedan and pulled Stephanie out, he half dragged, half carried her to the car and pushed her into the backseat. They pulled away, Hank still on their tail. This whole transaction had taken less than 3 minutes. Lawrence was dead, the metal was being stolen again, and Stephanie was still in danger. Perhaps more now than she had been before.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO


	7. Chapter 7

Standard FF disclaimers

April 2012

Accepting Destiny Part 2

Chapter 7

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It had been a long standing joke in the family. Uncle Vito talked about a mystery metal that could cause great damage. He described a field test that was incredible, creating destruction that would last for generations. The Germans were taking the research seriously, dedicating some of their best scientists to the task of discovering new and more effective ways of fighting their enemies. And when they came across this substance it was all they had hoped for and a little bit more. But it was unstable, the results hard to predict. So their research continued.

"The Germans were crazy," Uncle Vito would say. "Good thing they couldn't figure this thing out, or we would all be speaking German now."

Of course no one took old Uncle Vito seriously. He was old, maybe been around the block one too many times. As much fun as he was to listen to, the stories just couldn't be true, they were too far fetched to be believed. But Uncle Vito was always good for a laugh. No one ever called him on it, Tony wouldn't allow it. A certain respect was given to the elder members of the family. It was their due. They had earned it. So these stories were told and retold until they became part of the family lore.

The random phone call, however, changed everything. All the curiosity about the stories was about to be satisfied. The call came into the land line, the number that had been in existence since the first phone was installed when the house was built. The younger generation in the family was amazed, and more than a bit embarrassed, that there was such an archaic form of communication still functioning in the house. It was comical to them, all it did was make and receive calls. Heck, it didn't even have the ability to record messages. But Mama insisted that the phone was her 'lifeline' to the old country and she refused to give it up. That was another thing you never did in this family… you never argued with Mama. The phone stayed.

A big pot of spaghetti sauce was bubbling on the back of the stove. This would simmer for hours before it was ready to pair with fresh pasta for dinner. Mama stayed in the kitchen to babysit her sauce. It was her haven, not many ventured into her kitchen. She liked her solitude. It also meant that she usually was the one who answered the phone. She was the only one who was in the kitchen often enough to hear it when it rang. And she was the one who wanted to speak with whoever would call that number.

Mama had just checked the sauce when the phone rang. She wiped her hands on her apron and hurried over to the wall where the phone was hung. She grabbed the receiver with its ten foot cord twisted in a tangled mess. Walking across the room, to sit at the table, the cord was pulled out to its full length. When she was seated she finally answered the phone.

"Dire," _Speak_ she said. She could hear the hesitation on the other end of the line.

"Che chiama," _Who's calling_ she asked. Still she heard breathing, but no one said anything.

In English this time she said "hello, how can I help you?"

Finally a voice asked to speak with Tony. Mama was surprised. Tony had passed away the spring before. It had been a tremendous loss for the family. Tony had run the family business for decades. He had connections all around the world. Mama crossed herself at his memory and told the caller that Tony was not available anymore. After a brief question and answer session, Mama called Vito to the phone.

Crazy Uncle Vito was the only one who would believe the story that the man on the phone was telling. Shortly after the call had ended, the family gathered around the dining room table. There would be a business discussion before dinner was ready. Giovanni was the eldest son and had assumed the role of patriarch of the family after the death of his father Tony. Gio led the discussion tonight.

"Vito has always spoken of the dangerous metals that were tested in Germany during the war," he started. Everyone around the table nodded in agreement, even if some of them did so with a smile creeping onto their faces. But not laughing out loud, that would be disrespectful. And Gio would not tolerate it.

"If this caller is to be believed, he actually has the only existing collection of the metal," Gio continued. He looked around the table as shocked looks gave an indication of what everyone thought of that last statement.

Uncle Vito spoke up. "He knew Sam" he said. "The story goes that someone named Sam was going to steal the metal." There were nods, yes, everyone remembered the story. "This guy says his dad was Sam. He disappeared about 30 years ago. But with some notes he left behind, this guy Lawrence, found the metal."

Most of the men at the table were shaking their heads in disbelief. The legends were supposed to be just that, legend. Myth. They had all listened to Vito's crazy stories because Tony wanted to believe them. Tony often spoke of the power they could have in the family if they possessed this magic metal source. They could just issue threats, and people would fall all over themselves to do their bidding. Tony really wanted to find this stuff. He did his fair share of searching over the years. And he came close. He had spoken to this Sam person. Had been promised that the metal could be delivered, for a price. But nothing ever came of it. Everyone concluded that the stories that remained, were just that. Stories.

Gio was now ready to find out just how real this was. He set his plans in motion. Mama and Vito had gained enough information from this man that they knew where to find him. They would conduct their own search now. Their own quest for power. They would find out whether this guy had the goods. And then they would 'negotiate' with him.

"This guy thinks that he can demand 10.5 million dollars from us," Gio scoffed. "He must be out of his effing mind if he thinks he can waltz in and make demands," he stated.

The men all nodded, the guy was an idiot to take this posture with the boss.

"After all this time, he wants us to believe him, that the stuff is real, that he's got it and that he thinks we will fork over money, just like that." Gio said.

He didn't like this guy, and he liked the idea of doing business with him even less. But the possibilities intrigued him. And it was what his father would have done. So they put their plans in place. His men were sent to find Lawrence. They would watch him. Never interfering, just observing. They would report his every move.

This venture eventually took them to Trenton. They had connections with the Rosolli family in Trenton. It would be extra important now, that this be kept very quiet. They did not want to alarm or worse, make the family aware that there was something they might want too.

Lawrence was followed. They watched him as he spied on Edna and Stephanie. They saw him dig up the suitcases. They saw him hide them at the old house. They watched as he played all of his little games. Over and over the word 'amateur' came to their minds. This guy knew nothing. He was not a player. He was just greedy. Hoping to profit from a fortunate set of circumstances. And he was so predictable. They practically knew what he was planning to do before he did. Predictable and obvious. Gio hated this guy more and more every day. But he could afford to be patient. So he continued to watch.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_1974_

Frank Plum was on cloud nine. His wife Helen had just found out that she was pregnant. Frank was thrilled. They both wanted a big family and they had been trying for a long time. Helen thought that it would be the most natural thing in the world to get married and then get pregnant. But three years later they had still been waiting for their miracle. When it came she could hardly wait to share the news. When Frank had kissed her goodbye that morning, he couldn't help but notice the warm glow about her. She was truly happy, and he shared that joy. She kissed him once more, telling him she was planning to stop by her parents house sometime today to share their news. He adored the sparkle in her eyes. This had been worth the wait. He told her to take it easy, he didn't want anything to happen now that they had finally been granted their wish. She nodded and pushed him out the door. No sense in his being late. Waving, she watched him drive off. She smiled. Her heart was full of love, Frank was perfect. They were going to have a child, life was perfect.

Somehow she made it home from her parent house. Somehow she walked into her house. Helen was in some kind of shock. Her mind was trying to process the events of the afternoon. She was scared. Secrets were weighing heavily on her heart. Her parents didn't want anyone to know, not even Frank. How could she keep something from him. But how could she explain it? She didn't even understand what was going on, and why it was so important that no one knows about a mysterious visitor.

All of the lights were off in the house when Frank arrived home from work that evening. Not even the porch lights had been turned on. It worried him to walk into the dark room and see the silhouette of his wife, sitting on the couch, still and silent. Frank sat next to her, wrapping his arms protectively around her. At first she didn't move. But then he heard her slowly exhale, and she collapsed into his embrace. He held her tighter.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" he whispered, scared to upset her. She didn't answer, she just clung to him until she finally fell asleep. He carried her up to bed, tucked her in and headed straight to her parents house. She was to have visited with them today. Maybe they would have some answers.

He wouldn't say that his conversation was exactly enlightening. Edna never answered any of his questions directly. But he would never forget the look in her eyes when she told him to be kind and gentle with Helen for a while. Edna told him that Helen would need his help and understanding. She was so earnest in her plea. Frank nodded his head and promised to be careful with her. He thought that she had been referring to her pregnancy. He figured that he had the next nine months to treat his wife with kid gloves. And he was determined to help her every single day. Frank was so worried about his wife, he was careful about everything, even the words he said to her. He would agree with her in all she said, not wanting to upset her. He truly thought that it was a good way to show his love for her.

The next day a new and determined Helen greeted her world. Frank watched as she tackled her house work with a new fervor. He thought it was that "nesting phase" that the nurses had mentioned at their first doctors appointment. She seemed happy, so he stepped back and let her take the lead here. Helen never mentioned that night, and Frank did not know how to bring it up without upsetting her. So he didn't say anything. This became their new routine. And it continued for years.

_Present _

Frank remembered everything about his first discussion with Helen's parents so many years ago. He recognized his mistakes and his responsibility for the way Helen took over their relationship. He also understood now, he owed his daughters an apology for stepping so far back. For not standing up for them and for letting Helen bulldoze over all of them with her overbearing manner. Especially Stephanie. She deserved to have someone on her side, to encourage her and be there for her no matter what. He should have been that someone. He could see so clearly now, just how much Helen had changed that day. He could also see how much he had changed too. He sighed. Regrets were heavy on his mind.

He charged right up to Mona's door. He politely, but forcefully asked to speak with Edna. Helen was still nearly comatose in her bed right now. Frank wanted some answers, and he wanted them now.

Edna couldn't agree more. He did need to hear the whole story. He needed to step up and help Helen and Stephanie. Their discussion stretched out for hours. Edna answered each of his questions. She explained it all. He couldn't believe how big this secret was. What an overwhelming toll it had taken on the family. The danger that his daughter was now in. Frank sat, speechless. His mind trying to take it all in.

"What do we do now?" he finally asked.

Frank would admit that he had an urge to run, to put this all behind him. But at the same time, he was ready to stand with his family and fight. He was angry that someone had come in and threatened his little girl. He would do all he could to help her. His first stop, however, needed to be back home with Helen. As he drove home, he wondered what words he could say that would undo all that had been done. Helen was hurting, and Frank was scared that he might not be able to reach her. He needed his Helen back. After all these years, he hoped he could find the Helen he married.

Rushing into the house, Frank found Helen still in bed. She wasn't asleep, her eyes looked up at him in surprise. He threw his arms around her, giving her the kind of hug that he hadn't given her in years.

"I'm sorry Helen, so sorry," he whispered. Helen understood. Frank knew. She buried her head in his chest and cried.

For too many years she had held secrets inside. She had allowed them to change her. She had changed. After her talk with Stephanie she had had to look closely at herself. She hadn't liked what she had seen. How had it all become so bad? She was ashamed that she had not opened her eyes sooner, to see what she had become.

But after talking with Edna. Her heart broke. More secrets, secrets that she didn't want to know. Secrets that could now hurt the ones she had been trying to protect for all these years. The futility of it weighed heavily on her. She was now burdened with the knowledge that everything she did, everything she became in her efforts to hide the secrets was for nothing. Nothing! The secrets had pushed their way into their lives anyway. Her daughter was threatened, it would be Stephanie who would have to pay. It was not fair. Helen thought that she had been willing to pay the price that these secrets demanded. She had paid! She gave up her relationship with her husband, with her daughter. She had given up herself to keep the secrets away. The injustice of it all made her angry. She could see now that it had been Stephanie who had paid the biggest price. How could she have let that happen? How could she ever expect anyone to forgive her?

"Frank, I…" Helen pulled away enough to look at him. "I never meant…" she started again. It was so hard, how could she find the words to explain what had happened to her?

"Shhhh, Helen," Frank murmured. "It's going to be okay," he told her. "We are going to be okay."

Frank was looking into her eyes as he spoke. Helen, his Helen was back. Her eyes were now shining with the spark that had been hidden for so long. He was so relieved. He held her close again, and felt her arms wrap around him, hugging him tight. Oh, how he had missed his wife.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Speeding down the freeway, she could see the scenery changing. They were leaving Trenton. Stephanie was irritated. She was uncomfortable and she knew that everything that they had been prepared for was gone. It was gone the second that Lawrence had been shot. The game had changed and so had all the rules. And she just wanted to have this all over and done with.

Stephanie was not scared. She was not worried. She may not know who was whisking her away from Trenton. But she knew that Hank was with her. And she knew that Ranger was close too. She could feel him near. She still had her trackers and panic buttons. And although she could not reach them with her hands pulled behind her, it didn't matter. She was not alone, her faith in Ranger and her angel was complete. No she was just irritated. She wished that they would stop so that they could get this over with.

But they continued driving, and she realized that they were heading for New York. She took a closer look at the men in the front seat. She could see it now. They were Italian. In fact they looked a lot like Connie's family. She rolled her eyes. "Great, this is just great," she thought. Now the mob has gone and gotten itself involved. It didn't actually surprise her, that the mob would be interested in the power of the metal. But it was a complication that they really didn't need right now

Finally they pulled up to the family compound. The gates opened and the two dark cars slid in through them. Ranger and Hank watched the gates close. They now knew who they were dealing with. Definitely a complication they had not wanted. But Roger was already working on a plan. His team would not let Stephanie down.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Gio thought that this operation had been pretty slick. He congratulated himself. Everything had gone smoothly. But greedy and power hungry people always miss something. They become blinded by their ambitions and small details get past them. Had Gio contacted the Rosolli family, they would have been able to inform him of the connection between the kidnapped girl and a man known as Ranger. If he had been willing to share his discovery, Gio would have been prepared. They would have taken the metals and left. They would have left Stephanie behind. But Gio turned out to be as clueless and careless as Lawrence. He didn't even know what he didn't know. But he would. Very soon.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO


	8. Chapter 8

Standard FF disclaimers

April 2012

Accepting Destiny Part 2

Chapter 8

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Mona and Edna were admiring the raspberry bushes in the back of her yard. Mona had been pruning them back, and with the help of her neighbor Mr Dayton, she was preparing starts for their gardening group. Edna was fascinated. When she had planted raspberries in her garden, it was more to hide something, than for their annual harvest. So she had never given much thought to the care of the plants. As a result, the bushes had taken over a large portion of the garden patch it had been planted in.

Mr Dayton was still talking. It seemed he had forgotten more about gardening, than Edna had ever known. He was now lecturing on the fascinating growing patterns of the berry bushes. Expounding on the extraordinary traits of roots.

"Over the years the root systems of berry bushes become the stuff of legends," he was saying. "Any one who has ever attempted to remove a bush of this type will attest to the fact that the small bushes that you can see above ground are hiding a network of thick woody runner and tap roots that intertwine and go deep in the ground covering an area nearly four times the size of the bush itself."

Mona was listening and nodding. Edna was thinking about the bushes that she planted 30 years ago. She had heard that the vandalism at her old property had revealed contaminated soil, and that it was being investigated. Her nightmare, it seemed, was far from over. She was worried that the examination of the yard could reveal more than anyone expected. Shaking her head, she tried to bring herself back to the topic at hand. She smiled and nodded as if she were following the discussion. The nagging at the back of her mind would not stop.

At the monthly Gardeners Club meeting, Mona exchanged her raspberry bush starters for bulbs of all kinds and seeds that would ensure a bountiful garden next spring. Mr Dayton seemed so pleased as he watched Mona. Edna was standing back watching him watch her. A large grin crept across her face. She wasn't sure why she hadn't seen it earlier. But she was sure, now, that their Mr. Dayton was in love with Mona. Edna couldn't wait to get home and ask Mona all about him. Her thought was simple, if Mr Dayton liked Mona, maybe Mona liked him too. And if she did, Edna wanted to find out why they were still dancing around each other. Someone had better make a move.

The idea of this conversation was on her mind when they arrived back home. But when they both took a few minutes to retrieve their phone messages, all other thoughts were gone. Stephanie had been kidnapped. Helen and Frank had just found out about the fiasco. And were sick with worry. Edna and Mona jumped back in the car and headed for Helen's house to lend moral support as the family waited to hear more news.

It had been Joe Morelli who had informed the Plums about what was happening. He had been aware of the meeting with Stephanie's stalker. Tank had contacted the TPD to ask that the investigation of the property be suspended long enough for this meeting to take place. So that they would have a better chance of apprehending the unknown man who was demanding that Stephanie meet him there. Joe knew that Ranger and his men would be with her. He figured that it would be a minor undertaking, and that they would have the guy down to the station before too long. When they didn't show up, he called Tank. That is when he found out that Stephanie had been grabbed by someone else. And the chase was on. The last news he had heard was that they were in New York. Morelli immediately knew what that meant. Mob connections. "Only Stephanie can get kidnapped from her kidnapper," was his first thought. He shook his head with the thought that followed, "Nothing is ever easy when Stephanie is involved."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Gio met the cars as they returned to the compound. He was anxious to see what they had brought him. What was so mysterious about the metal that his father had searched for, for so long. Would it truly bring the instant fear and respect that his father thought it would?

His men started to unload the cars. The large containers were placed side by side in front of Gio. He was almost giddy with anticipation. With his eyes so focused on the boxes, he didn't see the girl being pulled from the car. She was practically next to him when he was finally aware of her.

"You have no idea what a stupid move this was, do you?" Stephanie snarled at him.

He looked up in surprise. But it was quickly replaced with anger. No one speaks to him with that tone. Without a thought he slapped her hard across the face with such force she fell back onto the ground. Stephanie scrambled to get to her knees and scoot away from him. A difficult task with her hands still cuffed behind her back.

"What is this?" Gio yelled.

He looked at his men. All four of them were standing to the side, awaiting further instructions. Apparently pleased with the job they had done, they were probably expecting some praise.

He glared at the men. He wanted to know who she was. Why she was involved. And what were they thinking, bringing her here?

He didn't want any loose ends. That was why he gave the order to have

Lawrence killed. They had what they needed from him, so they eliminated that connection.

"Get her out of here," he said. The last thing he needed was a witness.

The man closest to her grabbed Stephanie by the arms and pulled her up. And started marching her toward the large guard house that stood by the gates. It was meant to house the men who were on the 24 hour guard duty. For their purposes now, it would work as a secluded place to detain their unexpected prisoner.

She was locked inside a small room in the basement. Furnished with only a narrow bed and a table with a lamp, the room was obviously used for sleeping and nothing else. It had no windows, the only source of light was the lamp. The room smelled of dirty socks and garlic. Stephanie thought she was going to be sick if she was in here very long. As she stood in this small room, she tried to stretch her muscles, she was stiff and sore. She wished that they had removed the cuffs. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she tried and tried to pull her pockets close enough to her hands to reach the panic buttons, but it was no use. And the effort caused her more and more pain as the plastic cut deeper into her skin. Maybe she didn't actually need to push the panic button. She knew Ranger was near. She just wanted to do something, anything to try to get out of here. She fought the tears, she was starting to feel trapped and helpless. How had things gone so wrong? Where did these Italian guys come from? Why did they drag her here? These and so many other questions were running through her mind. And she knew that guy outside would be trouble. She didn't like him, not one bit. And it wasn't just because she still had a handprint stinging on her face. Stephanie took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down. How she wished that Ranger was here, wrapping his arms around her. As she focused her thoughts on Ranger, she was able to separate herself from the horrible little room she was in. In her mind she was with him, wrapped in his safe embrace.

Outside Gio was still yelling. In the best Italian manner he was throwing his arms around, practically spitting as his rant continued. Red in the face now, he was livid. None of his men expected this response. The treasure that they had brought home to him sat there, untouched, unnoticed. So they had grabbed the girl, no big deal. They could put a bullet through her head as easily as they had in the guy they left behind. Confusion played on each of their faces. But no one would say a word. They all knew better than to talk when he was in a mood like this.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

More and more information was being gathered. The wall on the fifth floor had been cleared. They started a new investigation. Roger King and his team were researching the Pezzati family. As one of the minor families associated with the mob, the Pezzati family had fought hard for their position in the organization. When Anthony Pezzati died last year, power was handed over to his son Giovanni. As hard headed and driven as his father, Giovanni was a force to be reckoned with.

With all of the sources of information they had to work with, it was Ranger that was giving the best intel at this stage of the game. Ranger and Hank were parked outside the Pezzati compound in New York. They were monitoring the people and cars coming and going from the compound. They sent along detailed descriptions of the men they saw grab Stephanie. They were even able to pass along the conversations that they could hear from the other side of the gate. King once again called his friend at TPD. Plans were put into place. As soon as Stephanie was safe, the Pezzati family wouldn't know what hit them.

Ranger was undercover outside of the Pezzati compound. As night approached, he realized that he had been stuck in physical conditions far worse than this, but he had never had a more desperate situation. Getting to Stephanie was his only goal. But he had to be careful. After following Stephanie, they started the investigation into the family. For as much intel as they had gathered, Ranger could still see no connection. It was coming back to the Stephanie factor. She ended up here by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was obvious to him now, that she wasn't meant to be here. And that could be good or bad, depending on how the Pezzati's decided to deal with the mistake of kidnapping her. The fact that they had already killed once to cover their tracks was a major source of worry for him.

Ranger closed his eyes, rubbing his hand over his face. He wanted to get her out of there. especially after the arguments they had overheard. But rushing in would put her in more danger. He was going to have to take it slow. They had a plan, but it was going to kill him to be this close without being able to go in and get her out. His thoughts centered on Stephanie, he could feel her. They were that close. He allowed his mind to see only her. He could see them together, and he could feel her in his arms. Only with these thoughts was he able to stick to the plan.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Soil samples had been gathered from several locations around the site. It had been immediately recognized as a job for the Hazardous Materials Response Unit. All the diagnostic protocol was followed, the site had been cordoned off. Access was limited to the area. After extensive testing and analysis, it was determined that the soil from a large section of the yard surrounding the dig site should be removed and destroyed. Arrangements were made and special unit construction teams were brought in to start the removal of the dirt. The sections required to be eliminated extended to the section of the yard that included the raspberry bushes.

The crews began the removal process. The soil surrounding hole was easily dug up and dumped into the special dump truck. But when they went to dig up the raspberry bushes they ran into all kinds of trouble. The root systems created tangles of roots that pulled up huge sections of dirt with them. The backhoe operator was surprised that such a large chunk of dirt was pulling up at one time. But since it held together until he was able to dump into the back of the truck, he considered himself lucky that the job was moving along so fast. If there had been a clank of metal as the clump fell into the truck, it went unnoticed. If there had been parts of the roots poking out that looked a lot like bleached out bones, that too was unobserved. The specified depths were reached and all required soil was removed. The specially equipped dump truck was covered, not allowing any of the contaminated soil to escape. The entire contents was taken to a special toxic waste site where the soil was placed into gigantic incinerators, every bit of it was annihilated.

In the final report, the backhoe operator would make notes concerning the impressive network of roots from the bushes. Details about the amount of dirt removed was included. Dates and details of the destruction of the contaminated soil marked the end of the incident. Job done, there was nothing more to say.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO


	9. Chapter 9

Standard FF Disclaimers

April 2012

Accepting Destiny part 2

Chapter 9

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Multiple jurisdiction operations practically required a machete to cut through all of the red tape. Roger King was getting frustrated. Joe Morelli and Tank were in the conference room with him. They were all trying to argue the finer points of the laws concerning the case. This included the killing, the kidnapping and the transport of dangerous materials across state lines.

King was a little bit perturbed that it was Morelli here instead of his friend Alan Benton from TPD. All of the arrangements that had been made thus far in the investigation had gone through Benton. Joe Morelli had inserted himself into the team and it looked like he was trying to take over. If King had thought for just one second that Joe had Stephanie's interests at heart and had felt compelled to join the search because he was worried about her, he would have been glad to work with the jerk. But he only got the feeling that this was a high profile case and Morelli wanted in for his own gain. It wasn't something that King was prepared to allow, so he made arrangements for some of his team to keep the detective busy, while he went back to Benton and started putting together a plan of action.

This one factor simplified things considerably. The TPD was able to make necessary arrangements through the NYPD and between the two departments everything was put into place for a raid that the mob families would not soon forget. Of course, none of it would be possible if not for the cooperation of one Ranger Manoso and his men from RangeMan. It would be their expertise that would prove to be pivotal in this operation.

With the intel that Hank and Ranger were feeding them from right outside the Pezzati compound the departments knew what they were dealing with. From the approximate number of men inside the compound, to the general mood of the people there.

Ranger's men were already on their way. The activity around the Pezzati compound had recently changed. The plan for the raid would be altered to take advantage of the new developments. They would need all their manpower as soon as possible. The raid was going to prove to be more than anyone ever imagined.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Giovanni Pezzati was still angry. Several men had been severely injured as a result of his rants that were becoming more and more physical. Like his father before him, Gio did not tolerate mistakes. He expected his instructions to be carried exactly how he envisioned them, and anything less brought out his Italian temper. At this moment, he had had enough of the apparent incompetence of his men. He was ready to take matters into his own hands and take care of the problem. Pulling out his gun, he headed for the gate house. It truly irked him that it was always left up to him to clean up these messes. But he couldn't afford to have this complication. And he would be satisfied to see it finished off, once and for all. No loose ends. As he stalked across the compound, someone called out his name. Yelling something about the visitors that would be arriving any minute.

Sure enough a car pulled up outside the gate. Gio suddenly remembered that he himself had arranged a meeting with the heads of several of the families. He moved quickly, ordering that the container boxes be hidden out of sight in the gate house. He wasn't ready to reveal his new secret quite yet. Receiving assurance that the meeting room was ready, Gio stepped closer to the gate. And assuming the role of the attentive host, he greeted each of the cars as they slowly pulled into the courtyard. Soon there was a group of men in expensive suits shaking hands and nodding to each other.

"Please, gentlemen, let's go inside now," Gio said, indicating the door with his outstretched arm. He allowed everyone to enter the house, following them into the meeting room. He was about to put into place the key to his take over plans, and he smiled as he entered the room.

Big pots of simmering sauce offered a tantalizing aroma. Mama had put the pasta in to cook as soon as she found out the families were arriving. Within half an hour, all of the men were seated around the table, talking and relaxing over steaming bowls of mama's pasta. The Pezzati's knew how to treat their guests. Wine was poured, bread was passed around. The men ate and enjoyed their meal. Becoming mellow and approachable. Just as Gio had predicted.

His plan was in place. With patience he would gain their trust. But more importantly, he would eventually gain their fear. The Pezzati's were not destined to remain one of the minor families in the mob. Like his father before him, Gio was determined to push them to the front.

They would be respected.

They would be feared.

They would soon rule the families.

Gio smiled again to himself, this time a wicked, indulgent smile. These men were right where he wanted them, and he had no doubts that by the end of the evening, they would know who was in charge now.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The stench of the little room was making Stephanie feel nauseous. Her head was now pounding, in part from the smell, and partly because of the slap from Gio, but in a larger part, due to the worry she felt. She had seen Lawrence killed right in front of her. Still shocked from the abruptness of it. The cold callousness of the moment. She could feel that heavy ache in the pit of her stomach.

As bits of the conversations were overheard, from the guards out in the hall, she knew that her presence here was not welcome. She was a problem, just like Lawrence had been, and she didn't know how long she had before they decided what to do about her.

Stephanie didn't want to wait. She had to do something. Desperation was taking hold of her heart. Her eyes roamed the room, seeing it really, for the first time. Light from the lamp cast a sickly yellow glow around the tiny room. The walls appeared uneven with the odd shaped shadows. Finally the details of the room came into focus. The table by the bed looked like an antique. The wood had been polished so often, it now had a deep, dark patina. She looked more closely at the table, it had a narrow drawer hidden just under the tabletop. She had not noticed it before. Backing up to the table she wriggled the drawer open. Turning to look inside, she got just a glimpse before the commotion in the hall grabbed her attention. She grabbed the small bottle of breath spray, from the drawer, hiding it in her hand.

Stephanie carefully closed the drawer and again sat on the edge of the bed. Angry words were being exchanged, she could hear a woman's voice clashing with the deep voices of the guards. After some time, the door was flung open and a short angry Italian woman burst in.

"You," the woman spit at Stephanie. "You have caused enough trouble to my Gio,"

She grabbed Stephanie's arm and yanked her off of the bed. Dragging her out of the room and up the stairs. They had not reached the top of the stairs before a much older woman stood watching them. Waiting. The look in her face was hard for Stephanie to read. She didn't look angry, like the younger woman. But she didn't exactly look pleased either. She had one of the same 'I don't know what we are supposed to do with you' looks that she had seen on so many faces since she had been dragged here. As they stepped toward her, she moved out of the way allowing them to pass by her. Then with nothing but her commanding presence, she turned and led them to a small den down the hall. Mama closed the door and looked at Stephanie. Again her look was unreadable. Mama turned her attention to the young woman.

"Gina, what do you think. You can't come around here like this," she scolded her.

"Mama," Gina said with a whine in her voice. "Gio is angry about this, we should just end it for him, you know help him out." She finished speaking and pulled a small gun out of her pocket, and pointed it at Stephanie.

Stephanie couldn't breathe, she stared at the woman, wondering how to get away from her. With her arms still behind her back, she was moving clumsily and nearly fell as she tried to move to the door. She bumped into the older woman who had stepped forward, at that moment, to grab the gun. And they both came down on top of Gina. A struggle for the gun left the three women scrambling, Stephanie was spraying the breathspray randomly, not able to aim it at anyone. But she did manage to get it into mama's face, causing her to start choking and coughing. The gun went off sometime during the whole mishap.

That sound sent men running on both sides of the gate.

Inside the gate house, there were shouts from every side, as all of the guards came running to the den. They crowded the hall way and had a hard time opening the door to see what had happened. The shot and the yelling attracted the attention of the men who stood waiting just outside the gate. They busted their way through the gate, starting their planned raid a few minutes early in response to the gun shot.

Uniformed police officers pushed through the gates first. Their guns raised and ready. Some veered off to the gate house, and the rest ran straight into the house. A group of men in black joined them as they burst in. Several of Gio's men in the house tried to stop the invasion, but were unsuccessful in their attempts. All they would get for their efforts was assault and resisting arrest added to their formal charges. As they reached the room where the other men were still eating, they saw Gio trying to get away. The leaders from the other families saw that too and instantly thought they had been set up.

Betrayed. There would be hell to pay when the other families heard about this. The Pezzati family would answer for this outrage!

Gio actually managed to slip out a side door in his attempt to make his escape. It was such a bad move, in so many ways. Not only did he look like a coward, he looked bad to the other families. Worse of all, as he neared the gate house, he placed himself right in the path of a very angry Ranger.

Ranger and Hank joined the men who rushed in to the gate house. The shot had come from the gate house and from all the conversations that they had heard, they were afraid that Stephanie could be right in the middle of this situation.

Somehow, Ranger knew she was alright for the time being, he could feel it. But he wanted to get to her, and hold her, to reassure himself that she was truly okay. His urgency to find her had him running around the side of the gate house to enter from the back. As he rounded the corner of the house, Gio came running so fast he couldn't stop and they collided. Ranger stood his ground, as Gio practically bounced off of him and hit the ground hard. Instantly Ranger recognized this man. He was the one ranting and threatening Stephanie. His first instinct was to stop him, by any means necessary. He would like to have the pleasure of causing this man extreme pain for what he had done to Stephanie. Ranger grabbed Gio by the collar and lifted him up, in one smooth move. Hank grabbed Gio and looked at Ranger. He nodded slightly and Ranger understood. Nodding back once to Hank, and glaring at Gio one last time, he rushed away to find Stephanie.

Bursting through the door, Ranger went directly to the small room at the front of the house. He pushed the men still outside the door out of his way and ran inside. His heart stopped. Stephanie was laying face down and motionless on the floor. His mind registered that there were 2 other women also laying on the floor and there was a gun next to one of them. In one stride, he was at Stephanie's side. Kneeling over her body.

"Steph," he breathed. "Babe," it was barely more than a whisper. Ranger pulled out his knife and carefully cut the plastic strip still wrapped around her wrists. As he turned her over, her head fell back onto his arm. She was unconscious. The red mark of a hand print was still visible on her cheek. A gash above her eye was dripping blood down the side of her face. Ranger gathered her into his arms and stood. Stepping over the other women, he left the room.

Together the Rangemen and the police quickly rounded up all of the men they found inside of both of the houses. Detectives in suits were waiting for them. Directing the removal of the men to the police vans now pulling up to the gate. Some men were shouting instructions. Others were yelling in Italian, their voices full of outrage. It was a chaotic scene. And in the middle of all, additional teams came in, to gather evidence. Hank had delivered a rather battered Gio to the detectives, walking away without a word, he left to find Stephanie.

Hank found Ranger as he left the house. He nearly panicked when he saw that he was carrying Stephanie. Quickly he led them to an ambulance. And aided Ranger as he climbed into the back. He would not let Stephanie go. His eyes were silently insisting that they check her while she remained in his arms. Ranger was focused only on Stephanie. He whispered to her, words in English, in Spanish, willing her to return to him. Her wrists were salved and wrapped in gauze. And after the gash was cleaned it was sutured together with surgical glue. It was not until a cold compress was applied to her swollen cheek, that Stephanie came to. She sucked in a sharp breath and sat up in Rangers lap. Her eyes opened, staring right into his.

"Carlos," she said with a strained voice.

Tears that she couldn't control streamed down her face as she threw her arms around his neck and held on like she would never let go. His arms held her tighter and he finally let out the breath that he had been unintentionally holding in, all this time, waiting for her to wake.

They remained in their embrace, neither willing to let the other go. Stephanie tucked her head into Rangers neck. Soon they would be headed home, but for now they were together. And that was all that mattered.

A clattering on the gurney wheels on the cobblestones of the courtyard called their attention to the body covered with a white sheet. Mama walked behind it with both of her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest. She looked up and saw Stephanie as they passed. Her eyes shot daggers at her, but before she could even think of making a move against her, Rangers forbidding look warned her and she lowered her head and walked away.

"That must have been Gina who died. I think she was Gio's wife," Stephanie said, watching as mama walked away with the gurney. A shudder shook her body, Ranger held her close and his eyes asked the question on his mind.

"Gina was about to shoot me. She wanted to eliminate the problem that was upsetting Gio." Stephanie shook her head. "She was willing to do it too, but I fell into the older lady when I tried to get away, and they struggled with each other for the gun before it went off."

Stephanie gently touched a finger to the wound on her head. "I think that one of them hit me in the head with the gun." She shrugged her shoulders slightly, "I don't remember anything after that."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

By the end of the day, the NYPD had six of the heads of the mob families in custody. Numerous body guards, and button men were also taken in and booked for various violations. The original plan had been centered around just the Pezzati family. Gio's plan to manipulate the other families had provided an unexpected opportunity for the law enforcement departments involved in this raid. And thanks to the intel gathered by RangeMan, they had enough evidence to really do some damage to the mob.

Gio's wife Gina was the only casualty tonight. It had been her own gun that killed her in the end of the struggle. Mama would claim it was a tragic accident, no charges would be filed against anyone for the death of Gina Pezzati.

The hazardous waste disposal unit took care of the cases of metal that had started this whole ordeal. After more than sixty years, this myth would finally be placed to rest. And the final footnote in this case would show that mans inhumanity to man had been responsible for ending the lives of countless men and women all in the pursuit of power and glory. But it had been greed that swayed so many to chase what turned out to be an impossible dream.

What was never mentioned in the report was the fact that Augosto Henrique Lenin died a hero. His initial theft of the metal thwarted further research and the possible destruction that it could have caused. His actions may have saved hundreds of thousands of lives around the world. It was also not mentioned that Harry Plum kept a vigilant watch over the evil substance that had been thrust upon him. No one would ever know the emotional price that he had paid to keep the metal out of the hands of tyrants.

Only a handful of people were left that knew the whole story. And they were not speaking. What was once the holy grail of the scientific community would now only remain as a few random words in the files of the arrest of a mob family.

A lifetime of greed and betrayal ended up as just a footnote, nothing more.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO


	10. Chapter 10

Standard FF disclaimers

May 2012

Accepting Destiny Part 2

Chapter 10

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Detective Morelli was informed, as was the rest of the team back at RangeMan, that the raid in New York had been a success. He went along with the idea that had been presented, that he had voluntarily stayed behind, to help out King, with the details back at the office. But truly he was angry. The more he heard about the raid, the people who they rounded up, the intel that had been documented, the fact that it was a huge coup for the NYPD and FBI, all of it only increased his anger at King. He knew that he had been intentionally left out of the loop. They were perfectly aware that he intended to be at the compound to help with the raid. And still they deliberately kept him away by making up so many things to keep him busy here. And even though he would be receiving credit for his part on the team, it did not make up for the fact that he was not present at the Pezzati raid. Hence he felt justified in his anger.

It was a high profile case. Even more so now that six more families had also been captured along with the Pezzati's. Morelli was aware that this type of case could make or break a detective's career, and he had hoped to be able to work with the NYPD to make a good showing and connect with some of the officers. A recommendation from them would help him move into a better position. His concern for Stephanie really was his motivation for wanting to be involved, with this case, she was still his friend. But he knew that staying in Trenton was not what he wanted any more. His life here had centered around Stephanie for so long, he couldn't go anywhere, talk to anyone, or do anything with out thinking of her. Everything reminded him of Stephanie, and to move on with his life, he needed a fresh start somewhere else. He had hoped that place could have been New York. With limited participation in the Pezzati incident, he was afraid that his chance had passed him by.

Alan Benton was a career cop. And he knew what this case could do for Detective Morelli. As a cop in the TPD, he had loyalties to the other cops in his department. He was aware that his involvement with his friend Roger King and RangeMan would interfere with Morelli's chances of advancement unless he was able to make the report show the work that Morelli really had been doing for the case. Even if he did not show up at the compound, the foundation for the arrests was based on a lot of his work. So Benton made sure that the reports reflected this, and he also made sure that his friends in the NYPD received the reports quickly while the glow over the mob arrests was fresh in everyone's minds. The results were exactly what he had hoped for. Morelli was recognized for his work, and invited to talk to some department heads in the NYPD. Shortly after, Detective Morelli was offered a position in New York.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Scattered across the dining room table were the plates of half eaten slices of pineapple upside down cake and now cold cups of coffee. Helen had been playing hostess to the family and friends who had gathered to wait for news about Stephanie. Much to Helen's dismay, too many of them had lost interest in food, over their worry for Stephanie.

Ever since Joe's call, the family had been waiting and worrying together. Edna was especially concerned. She was worried that her confession to Stephanie and Ranger had involved Stephanie in a problem that had nothing to do with her. Edna didn't know yet that is was Sam's son, Lawrence, who had brought this back into their lives. Some day soon, she would understand, but today she was plagued with guilt that this had all happened because she shared her story with them.

Mona kept close to Edna. Lending her some moral support, she could sense the oppressive mood that had descended on her friend. They sat on the front porch, hoping that a change of scenery could help. To lighten the mood Mona told Edna stories of her brother, Leonardo. She was younger than him by about 15 years, but they still had been able to get close over the years. The story she was sharing now centered around a trip they took together to the Smithsonian Institution in DC. By the end of the story, even Edna was giggling over the thought of Leo posing among the wax figures of celebrities and first wives in their inaugural ball gowns. It had been the perfect distraction. Finally the news they had been waiting for had come. Both ladies jumped up when they heard the phone ring. They were gathered close when Frank picked up the call.

They all listened carefully, nearly holding their breath as they heard the one-sided conversation. It was obvious by the look on Frank's face that the news was good. Edna found herself nodding, bobbing her head up and down as if she could fast forward to the end of the conversation, so that he could share all the information with them. When Frank finally said the words "Stephanie is on her way home with Ranger" there was a collective sigh of relief. She was going to be okay.

The family dispersed, and Helen was left standing on the porch, watching Mona's car drive down the street. She knew that Stephanie had been in danger because of the secret that the family had kept all these years. She was still more than frustrated to see that for all that she had done to protect that secret, it had come to hurt her family anyway. As Edna had left, she mentioned that it was finally done. But Helen almost didn't dare believe that the nightmare of the past 30 years was really over now. And if it was, the price that they had paid had been high, so very high.

As thrilled as she was to know that Stephanie was safe now, Helen couldn't help but feel sad as she realized that, for Stephanie, the term 'home' no longer meant the Plum's family house. She was now going 'home' to the apartment at RangeMan.

Helen hoped that she could someday help Stephanie understand how the secrets of the past had led her to become the ultimate 'burg' housewife. She desperately needed Stephanie to know that she never meant to hurt her. But for now, she was relieved that Stephanie was home safe, and grateful that she had a man in her life who would always be there to protect her.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Piles of clippings from the garden scattered the large yard. Preparation for the winter had been one of the most important phases of a garden. Mr Dayton had learned his gardening skills from his father, and every fall he would participate in the same rituals to clean up the garden and set the stage for spring. Today he was next door at Mona's house. He had been helping her with her yard clean up when she and Edna had been called away. They had successfully gathered raspberry starters for the exchange at their garden club, and now it was time to finish cleaning up the mess they had made. Mona was a special lady. For Mr Dayton it had been love at first sight when he moved in next to her several years before. A confirmed bachelor himself, he hadn't acted upon his feelings, instead he stayed at arms length, being a good friend, but never indicating that there was more interest than that.

He was trimming down branches so they would fit into the trash bins. Each motion of the clippers in his hand, became a burst of frustration. Over and over again he thought of how much he liked Mona. How his heart skipped a beat whenever he heard her voice drifting across the divide between their houses. His frustration was building, he had come to the realization that he needed her in his life, and he couldn't wait any longer. He had actually orchestrated the massive fall cleanup to create the opportunity to talk to her, but the right moment didn't present it self. And then they were gone. Mona was off helping Edna again.

His hand thrust at the last branch, clipping with such power the trimmed end flipped right up over his hand and hit him in the face. Mr. Dayton sighed. He took out the folded handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood off of his cheek. He was being stupid, he told himself. Maybe it was too late for a romance in his life. Maybe Mona wasn't looking for a relationship. His doubts were clouding his mind again. But the fact remained, he really liked Mona. And he desperately needed her.

From the kitchen window, Mona and Edna watched Mr. Dayton. After coming home from Helen's, they decided to make some tea, and there he was out in the yard. Edna couldn't help but notice the look on Mona's face as she gazed out the window at him. She smiled, her unasked questions from before, were being answered. Mona liked their dear Mr. Dayton every bit as much as Edna knew that Mr. Dayton liked her. This was all the information that she needed. And as luck would have it, Mr. Dayton himself provided the answer to the dilemma. As soon as they say the branch scratch his face, Edna saw the opportunity open up. As Mona gasped to see the blood on his cheek, Edna handed her the small first kit from the kitchen drawer. Mona looked up at her, surprised. Edna motioned her head toward Mr. Dayton. Mona's eyes widened, she didn't think that anyone knew how she felt about him. At her age she had, quite frankly, given up any hope that she would be able to have a relationship with anyone. She hadn't dared to believe that Mr. Dayton would share her feelings. But the look in Edna's eyes told her that this was the time to find out.

Taking the kit, Mona smiled and nodded and walked out into the yard. Edna watched as Mona approached Mr. Dayton. She gently took the handkerchief from his hand and carefully wiped the rest of the blood from his cheek. She pulled a band-aid from the box and covered the cut. Then Edna almost cheered out loud when Mona reached up and placed a kiss over the band-aid on his cheek. And she nearly clapped when their dear Mr. Dayton took Mona's had and brought it up to his mouth to kiss it gently. Keeping her hand, he led them over to the bench under the big peach tree. Finally Edna turned away, giving her friends some privacy. It was obvious that they were not talking about gardening. She knew that they had both finally let their feeling for each other be known openly.

"It's about damn time," Edna uttered under her breath, smiling as she left the kitchen.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO


	11. Chapter 11

Standard FF Disclaimers

May 2012

Accepting Destiny Part 2

Chapter 11

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The powerful aroma of pizza and beer wafted through the restaurant. Dozens of voices talking and laughing filled the space. It was a happy atmosphere, but you wouldn't be able to tell that by looking at the two women sitting at one of the large tables in the center of the room. They had long faces, sad and almost angry at the same time. Their mood seemed to match the black dresses they wore.

No. Angie and Bella Morelli were not ready to celebrate the fact that Joe was leaving. In fact, they were more than annoyed that Pino's was filled with so many people that seemed to be happy for him. They could not imagine what there was to be happy about. They didn't want Joe to move away. Especially not to New York City. They didn't understand that the job offer he had was a huge promotion, a big step in his career. And it never occurred to them that Joe needed to move on. The only thing that they could agree with was that this was Stephanie Plum's fault. She drove Joe away.

As if they had conjured her up with their thoughts about her, Stephanie walked into the restaurant. She paused, looking for Joe. It was his going away party. Everyone was here to congratulate him on his new job. His buddies from the TPD were happy for him, if not a little bit jealous that he had been offered such a great position. His friends were happy for him; they knew that he would only be able to stop thinking about Stephanie if he was far from here. And Stephanie was happy for him; she knew that he deserved some good things to happen in his life. She understood better than anyone how important it was for him to be able to get out of the Burg.

Joe turned around. And he looked right at Stephanie. A few comments he overheard let him know that Stephanie had arrived. And he made his way over to greet her.

"Steph," he said with what she thought was an almost sad smile. "I'm glad to see you."

She looked at him, and noticed that for the first time in a very long time, he was relaxed. His smile increased now, and she knew that he was happy. She knew that this change was good for him.

"Just wanted to say goodbye," she smiled at him. "And congratulations on the promotion, that's really great."

He nodded. His heart was still tender when it came to Stephanie. Words were hard for him suddenly. He swallowed, and then cleared his throat. Finally he responded.

"Thank you." It was all he could say.

She reached out and took one of his hands. Pulling something from her pocket, she placed it in the center of his palm, and curled his fingers closed around it.

"For good luck," she said. Then she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "You deserve the best Joe," she told him. Then she squeezed his hands in both of hers and turned to walk away.

As he watched her go he felt part of his heart break. Although he knew that he had to say goodbye to her, he also knew it would be the hardest thing he would ever have to do. As he watched, she disappeared through the door.

"Goodbye Steph," he whispered.

Slowly he opened his hand. His gaze was fixed on the object sitting there. He was frozen in place, memories flooded his mind. He took a deep breath, and blinked his eyes a few times. Someone called his name, breaking his concentration. Joe looked up, and nodded. Plastering a smile on his face he moved toward the guys at the back, slipping the peltier nova marble into his pocket. The one with the red streak. He knew it was Stephanie's favorite. Instinctively he knew what it meant. She was telling him that she had moved on with her life, and that she wanted him to be able to move on with his too. He also knew that he would keep this with him, in his pocket where ever he went, for the rest of his life.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Michael Dayton held Mona Schiller's hand as they walked between their houses. Over the past week, they had become inseparable. And everyone agreed that they were the cutest couple. It was funny, they had lived next to each other, they had shared gardening tips, they had smiled and waved at each other, and they had been friends for years. Who knows how much longer they would have continued with their friendly non-relationship if it hadn't been for Edna. Just a nudge and a push and Edna had encouraged Mona to share her feelings for Mike with him. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Maybe they made an unusual couple. He was tall, an elegant looking man. Aging gracefully, he had a head of thick, dark, hair just graying at the temples. She was shorter, and full of energy. Her strawberry shortcake hair color revealed the fact that she was not willing to age without a fight. And while he had been accustomed to dressing in suits, and his version of casual was chino slacks and polo shirts, she preferred the uber casual attire of baseball jerseys and jeans. But given the occasion, she could dress up with the best of them.

All it took was one look to see that these two people were meant to be together. Their connection was obvious. Even if they were not physically touching by holding hands, or placing their arms around each other, as was the case most of the time. They could be across the room from each other and when their eyes met you could almost see the sparks. It was no surprise to anyone when they announced their wedding plans. The only surprise was that the wedding was going to take place the next week. They both admitted that they had already spent long enough getting to know each other. They had no intention of wasting any more time. They were meant to be together and that is exactly what they wanted to be.

A graceful archway led into Mike's large living room. A profusion of white and cream flowers, of many varieties, adorned every available surface creating a soft, romantic setting. The sweet fragrance of the flowers filled the room. Classical music played quietly in the background adding to the ambience. The guests assembled were as many of their close friends and family that could make it on such short notice.

Michael and the Priest had taken their places at the front of the room, their backs to the magnificent picture window that looked out onto the garden setting beyond it. At the back of the room Edna stood next to Mona, making last minute fusses over the collar of her new white silk suit, and adjusting the bouquet of flowers in her hands. Mona let her eyes drift to the foyer one more time. Then turned forward again looking straight ahead, taking her place next to Edna.

Finally everything was ready. The music was queued, for the wedding march. Everyone stood up in anticipation of Mona walking down the "aisle". Just as all eyes turned to her, the front door flew open. Everyone could hear a big thud of something being dropped in the foyer, and then Leo burst into the living room. Mona's eyes widened and a huge smile covered her face.

"Leo, you made it!" she said as she raced to embrace him.

"You know I wouldn't miss this," Leo responded in a silky voice full of warmth. "I promised I would be here if you ever decided to get married!" he pulled back and winked at her. Then he placed her hand on his arm, with a grand gesture, and escorted her down the aisle, stopping in front of Mike. Before he handed Mona's hand over to Mike, he extended his own hand and introduced himself.

"Hello, good to meet you," Mike said, but his eyes were on Mona. Leo got the message and nodded, stepping back with a huge smile on his face.

Edna grabbed his hand and pulled Leo down into the chair next to hers, as everyone sat down. He looked at her and flashed a friendly smile. Edna still had his hand in hers, and she leaned toward him and whispered.

"I'm Edna, glad you could make it." She flashed him a smile of her own.

Thanks to Mona, both Leo and Edna knew a lot about each other. Both were the stars of so many stories that she told them. What Edna didn't know was just how handsome Leo really was. He had a sophisticated look, in clothes and attitude. His sense of humor was subtle, but his eyes sparkled when he was joking. And she had noticed that he was just the perfect height for her. She liked his silver grey hair. She liked that he had a lot of it! She continued to hold his hand throughout the ceremony. She liked the way it felt in her hands, and he seemed to like it too, judging by the way he would squeeze her hand and look at her and smile again, and again. It already felt like they had known each other forever.

In front of them, Mona and Mike absolutely glowed as they exchanged promises with one another. Everyone cried with them as they placed the rings on their fingers. And everyone cheered as they kissed each other for the first time as man and wife.

As they turned to face the group, Leo stood and with a flourish waved his hand toward the couple. He said with a large smile,

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Mr and Mrs Mike and Mona Dayton."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The office was dark; the only light source was the small desk lamp that illuminated a circle directly in front of Ranger. There always seemed to be just a little bit more paper work to do. He had come down an hour ago to get it under control. Hoping beyond hope it wouldn't take too long. Now he realized that it was getting late, he was not quite done, but he was getting tired, so he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Before long, a smile played on his lips as he felt the familiar tingle announcing that Stephanie was near.

"Babe," he said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the couch. She positioned him so that she could start to rub his neck and shoulders, her fingers working the muscles, coaxing them to relax. It was working, he melted into her. He was in heaven; her touch was exactly what he needed to relieve the tensions that had been building up for days.

Stephanie continued to rub his muscles, she laughed softly as she felt the growl of appreciation rumbling deep in his chest. She kissed the top of his head. She bent to kiss his shoulders and neck. And when she leaned in to kiss his cheek, he smoothly grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his lap. Wrapping his arms around her he returned her kisses. Now it was her turn to growl. Again Ranger realized that just being close to Stephanie like this was magic, it was more than he ever expected it could be. He also knew that he needed to be with her forever, he could not live without her. And he had decided that it was time to make it official.

He had thought about this moment unceasingly for weeks. And now that it was here, he wondered if he should wait to do something more elaborate. His thoughts were spinning in his head. The time just felt right and he took a breath. He looked into her stunning blue eyes,

"Will you marry me," Stephanie said, smiling up at him, eyes sparkling.

His eyes widened in surprise. Then he smiled. Ranger pulled out a ring from his pocket. He took Stephanie's hand. Tears filled her eyes as he slipped the ring onto her finger. Touching his forehead to hers, he took a deep breath.

"Yes;" he whispered. "I will marry you!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO


	12. Chapter 12

Standard FF Disclaimers

May 2012

Accepting Destiny part 2

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Dim lights in Marsilio's restaurant created a soft romantic setting for the couple sitting at a table set with china and crystal and adorned with roses. Frank held Helen's hand in his and absently rubbed his thumb along her finger, as he looked into her eyes. The years melted away, and they were two love struck kids on a first date. Shy conversation, exploring, getting to know one another. Sweet words, gentle touches, it was as if they were experiencing their courtship all over again.

So much had happened to them in the past 30 years. Some were great things, and some were painful. But for Frank and Helen, this moment was all that existed. They only had eyes for each other. Everything and everyone else melted away. And to any onlookers, they appeared to be just another 'empty nest' couple, attempting to reconnect after the kids had all gone. But Frank and Helen were anything but your typical couple. Their entire family was anything but normal. Especially by Burg standards.

Holding hands across the table, and talking softly, it was such a sweet scene. Suddenly Helen burst into tears. It wasn't entirely unexpected. This had been happening often over the past few days. Frank understood. He moved around to sit next to her. He wrapped his arms around Helen and held her as she sobbed.

Memories of her conversation she'd had with Stephanie, over a week ago, brought Helen to tears again and again. It had been one of the most difficult moments in her life. Her attempt to explain her behavior had brought out so much pain, not just for her, but especially for Stephanie. Helen's heart had ached as she apologized. Overwhelmed by the realization of just had badly Stephanie had been hurt by her criticisms, her unreasonable demands, her rejection.

Helen's tears surfaced each time she let herself return to the memories of how she had treated Stephanie, her whole life. She didn't even recognize the person she had become.

How could she not have seen what was happening to her? She had been so blind, she couldn't see the damage that she was causing in her efforts to protect the family secrets. Reminders of the price they had all paid for the secrets that had been thrust upon them, was a heavy burden that she would always carry.

"You will have to understand that while I love you mother, I need to be away from you for a while." The last words Stephanie had spoken after their discussions were as effective as daggers ripping at her heart. Helen did understand. But it did not ease the pain. Stephanie had been gracious, and understanding, and compassionate, but very firm. She explained that she felt they all needed some time to heal the wounds. And Helen could do nothing but agree with her and hope that, given that time, they would all be able to come together as a family again.

That thought was the only thing that eased her pain enough for her to try to move on. And that was what Helen was trying to do. Taking a deep breath, Helen looked up gratefully at Frank, a smile just touching her lips. She was well aware of how much she had almost lost. It wasn't only her relationship with Stephanie that had been damaged. She knew that she had come dangerously close to losing Frank as well.

Frank returned her smile. "Felling better yet?" he asked her. Helen nodded slightly, breathing deeply again.

"It will hurt for a long time," she whispered. Frank nodded. He wasn't going to sugar coat what had happened. Repairing relationships wasn't a painless process, but it was a necessary one, and he was proud of Helen for taking the steps to atone for her actions.

"You are not alone," he told her. Helen threw her arms around him. She knew she did not deserve him, but she would always be thankful that Frank loved her enough, believed in her enough, to fight for them again.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The sleek black Mercedes pulled up outside one of the most exclusive resorts in Atlantic City. People in the entrance craned their necks to see who was in that car. The two couples that exited the car seemed unaware of the attention that they were drawing. They moved rapidly toward the large revolving doors. The same onlookers could only imagine that they were very important people and they wondered why they were here. If only they knew. The couples were not carrying any luggage with them today. Their stay would be short. But it was one of the most important days in their lives.

As they were ushered into a beautiful private garden, the two lovely ladies gazed at their handsome gentlemen. Stars sparkled in their eyes. Diamonds glistened on their fingers.

The first couple stood in front of the officiator. Flowers and vines covered the archway over them, and blended into the lush garden setting. Soft music could just be heard in the background. Facing each other, they held each others hands in a loving grip between them. Gazing into each others eyes, they repeated the vows to each other. Breaking their gaze only long enough to slip wedding bands onto their fingers, they once again became lost in each other. Finally they realized that the ceremony was over. They embraced and kissed. The second couple stepped up and congratulated the newly wed couple. They all exchanged looks and then they traded places.

The younger couple now stepped before the officiator. They stood so close to each other they looked like one. Their vows were repeated as whispers into each others ears. Without moving apart they slipped the rings onto their fingers. And they did not wait for the invitation to kiss as man and wife. Their kiss was what legends are made from. Such passion was a miracle, one that so few ever experienced in a lifetime. And as such, it was welcomed into the hearts of all that were witnessing it.

Even the officiator had tears in his eyes. Never before had he had such an experience, not in all of his years of performing weddings. These ceremonies would never be forgotten, nor would they ever be matched for the passion and pure love that was felt.

Sharing the roles as witnesses, they all had their chance to say "I do". And now it was time to start their new lives.

Papers were signed, more tears were shed, and the kisses were passionate. The moments would be held in their hearts forever, and now it was time to start their new lives together.

A white limousine pulled into the circular drive. Edna and Leo climbed in and were whisked off to the airport. Their honeymoon destination was to the warm beaches of Hawaii. They waved as the limo pulled out of the driveway and soon they were out of sight. Their life together had just begun.

Stephanie and Carlos got back into the Mercedes and headed to a remote destination in Pennsylvania. Ella had prepared the newly acquired 'safe house' cabin for their extended stay. She was one of only a handful of people that knew about this property, and an even smaller number of those who knew about the wedding. And being Ella, she made sure that she included as many special romantic touches as she could to create a honeymoon worthy setting.

Besides their nuptials, these two couples shared the desire for solitude. These special moments were savored and cherished for their privacy as much as for their solemn purpose. They didn't need the public acknowledgement, or the fussing of a traditional wedding. They knew that they were meant to be together. And that was the only thing that mattered.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The weather had turned. Dark clouds covered the sky over Trenton and cast a grey gloom over the city. This was all lost on Mona, however. Even though she gazed out of the large window, she only saw the beautiful yard, all tucked in for the winter. She saw the hours that she had spent side by side with Mike, tending the garden and just being together. Her heart was full, never in her whole life had she dreamed of being this happy. Even as that thought played in her mind, she felt strong arms wrap around her waist. She felt Mike's warm breath on her neck, a split second before he planted a big juicy kiss there. She turned in his arms and wrapped her arms up around his shoulders, pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss.

Their honeymoon had been spent here in Mike's house. All they needed was to be alone, and that was accomplished right here. Besides, Leo was staying in her house next door, and Mona could see what was going on between him and Edna. There was no coaxing or prodding needed to help Edna declare her feelings. She was not shy, in the least, to let Leo know exactly what she wanted.

Mona was just so pleased that her brother and her best friend had found this mutual attraction for each other and that they had turned it into a happily ever after for them both. It was the best way ever for her to share the joy she felt with them.

Mike whispered into her ear, "A penny for your thoughts."

Mona smiled, "They should be on the plane by now, on their way to Hawaii."

Mike nodded. He expected that Mona would be just a little bit disappointed that they weren't at the ceremony. It was a big day for two of the most important people in her life. But they had all come to an agreement. When Stephanie and Carlos had proposed that they go to Atlantic City together, Edna knew that it was the right thing to do. Stephanie didn't want to have a big wedding. She and Carlos just wanted to be together. It was a personal decision and Edna wanted to support her favorite granddaughter. Being there with her would be the most special thing she could ever imagine to share with her. It would make the private moment all that much more significant, for all of them.

"And they are feeling almost as happy as we were an hour after our wedding," he said.

Mona looked up at him with a puzzled look on her face. "Almost as happy?" she asked.

Her wonderful husband smiled at her and gave her the most perfect answer ever. "Almost," he repeated. "Because no two people could ever be as happy as we are," he simply stated.

The gleam in his eye let her know that he was speaking from his heart. And she had to agree, no one could ever be as happy as she was right at this moment.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Epilogue

Post cards from Hawaii started showing up in the mail. Vague details of the wedding, were mixed in with a brief travelogue of their honeymoon. To say that the news was received with a mixture of emotions would be an understatement. Not that the connection between Leo and Edna hadn't been noticed. Rather, it was just such a surprise to hear of their impromptu nuptials. It would be weeks, however, before the whole story was revealed.

The first snowfall of the season decorated the whole city in a sparkling layer of white. Pino's restaurant once again hosted a large gathering of friends and family for another going away party. The place was crowded, the noise level was rising until Helen raised her glass. She got everyone's attention and spoke loudly, proposing a toast to Edna and Leo. Glasses were lifted and the toast was made. "Here, Here's" echoed all around.

Combining a celebration with a farewell was a bit unorthodox, but nothing out of the realm of possibilities for this crazy family.

The couple in the spotlight smiled and hugged as congratulations were expressed by all those in attendance. Not being shy at all, Leo hugged Edna tight and Edna laid a big, noisy kiss on him, right on the lips.

M.A. turned her head and made a face, she didn't want to see such a public display of affection. Angie watched with stars in her eyes, she thought it was the most romantic thing she had ever seen. And they were so cute together. Neither of the girls had known Harry, and they were excited to be getting a new 'grandfather'. Valerie smiled as the girls talked about all the things they could do with their 'new grandparents'.

So much had changed in the past few months. Not just for the Plum family, but for the whole Burg. Gossip just would not be the same again. Helen Plum had taken herself out of the loop. Her silence had nearly killed the network. But there would always be news, and it would always be spread. They just had to find a new broadcaster. Who knew what would be said about this celebration here tonight.

When it was time for the couple to leave, much of the crowd pushed their way outside to wave them off. They were still waving as the black truck turned and drove out of sight. Helen held onto Frank, she would miss them so much. Tears streamed down her face.

"Oh, Helen, get a grip," Edna said with a mischievous smile. "You know they will be back to visit in just a few weeks."

"But Miami just seems so far away," Helen whispered, trying to control her emotions.

Frank hugged her and pulled her back inside. He knew that she would be okay. The evening had been laced with both laughter and tears. He had no doubt that there would be still more of both to come. But the rest of the party was still in progress. And Helen had promised him at least one dance.

Ranger gathered Stephanie into his arms. She had been so quiet since they had left Pino's. He placed his hand on her cheek and she looked up into his eyes.

"You okay?" he asked.

She nodded, "More than okay." Her smile spread across her face. "Oh yes, so much more than okay," she said and she winked at him.

Their decision to relocate to Miami had been an easy one. RangeMan was growing, and Ranger wanted to oversee the operations, before they expanded. They would actually only be in Miami for a few months, then they would move on to work with each of the offices. This wasn't just Rangers world, it was hers now too, and Stephanie loved being a part of it. She leaned into him and he held her close. Stephanie sighed contentedly, this is exactly where she wanted to be. Ranger just smiled as the thought passed through his mind again. He looked down at her, Stephanie was his world, his home, his everything. He was exactly where he wanted to be.


End file.
